


A Godfather's Duty

by Daily



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family, Friendship, Mpreg, Prophecy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-01-25 20:51:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1662020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daily/pseuds/Daily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A pregnancy is supposed to be the happiest time of your life, but when disaster strikes Lily, James and Sirius unexpectedly change the odds and take a path that plays right into the hands of prophecy. How far would you go to protect someone you love? Involves mpreg but no slash. Only strong friendship and bromance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Male pregnancy, and chapters involving a man being pregnant though no slash or rape is involved. Some language that may be considered strong and strong bromance. If you cannot handle two grown men hugging, having emotions and holding hands then you should hit the previous page button now.
> 
> Contains abusive past for Sirius that is mentioned now and then.
> 
> Special thanks to Kitty for Beta-ing it.

"I'm pregnant."

If any sound had been made at that moment, she knew he might have missed the whispered words; but he had already flushed the toilet once she was done throwing up and was currently letting her lean against his side on the cold bathroom floor.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke as he progressed the words and her heart clenched painfully as fear gripped her.

"Does James know?" He shifted her to lean with her back against the bathtub so that he could hand her a wet cloth and a glass of water.

"I haven't dared to tell him yet," she softly admitted, rinsing her mouth gratefully before rubbing the washing cloth over her face.

Leaning back against the bathtub once more, she tried to find better words to try and explain her reasoning, but his simple nod told her he was perfectly aware.

"Well, we'll just have to face this together like we do with everything else."

"We will?" She glanced up to him curiously.

"Of course. We are family, it is what we do," the simplicity behind his words made her smile and lean against him again.

"You're having a baby," he whispered and despite her own fear, she couldn't help but smile as she could sense the excitement in his words and just knew he was smiling.

"Yeah," looking up into his grey eyes, they simply stared at each other for a long moment before he pulled her into a hug.

"Congratulations Lil, when are you going to tell James?"

"I wanted to tell him the moment I found out, but I just kept clambering shut because...well..."

"You are both active in the Order and it doesn't look like this war will be won anytime soon. So you have the feeling that you are violating the unspoken agreement the two of you made to wait with children until you could offer them a safe life."

"How did you know?" she asked curiously.

"I know both of you well enough, I should hope. And even if it is rather unexpected, he will be more than welcome."

"He?"

"The old and noble houses always have first-born sons; I don't know why, but it's been like that for many generations and I doubt it will change with you guys."

"If you say so, what do you think he will look like?"

"I hope he will take after you, I don't think I would be able to stop feeling sorry for the poor kid if he inherited James' bird nest hair."

"Don't be mean, James' hair is cute," chuckled at the sceptical look he shot her way, she consented. "Okay, it's a disaster, but it is a true Potter trademark."

"That's certainly true," pulling her back against his side in a half hug, he smiled.

"Do you think James will be happy with the news?"

"He will squeal, spin you around and snog the breath out of you before dancing around while screaming for the world to hear that he's going to be a daddy."

She didn't doubt he would be right as he knew James best, but she still couldn't help but tease. "You sound rather sure of yourself."

"Want to bet?"

"The usual?"

"Deal," he scrambled to his feet elegantly and helped her up as well. "You shouldn't sit on the cold floor and no more coffee or red meat for you, but lots of rest and pampering."

"Are you going to be one of those overbearing people who won't let pregnant people do anything?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Most definitely."

Laughing at his beaming face, she accepted the hug he pulled her into again.

"Congrats Lil, you are going to be a fantastic mother."

Squeezing him tightly in gratitude for the vote of confidence, she eventually pulled back to be able to look into his eyes. "Do you truly believe that?"

"I know so," placing a hand over her clothed belly, he beamed at her and she couldn't help but smile in response, squealing when he lifted her up carefully in a moment of sheer joy before hugging her once more. "There's going to be a baby!"

Laughing she returned his embrace happily before touching his arm. "You will be there?"

"Are you kidding me? You will have to fight me off with a broomstick to get me to leave! I will have to look after the both of you while James is at work, teach the baby all the things his parents don't want him to know; spoil him rotten and smother him in cuddles!"

"What if it somehow turns out to be a girl?" she couldn't help but laugh at his laid out plans.

"Then I will teach her all the things you don't want her to know, spoil her rotten, smother her in hugs and become a very overprotective uncle; biting anyone who so much as dares to look at her and threaten any potential suitors that you told James to leave alone," he paused momentarily.

"You have it all thought out already, huh?" smiling she kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Siri."

And her smile didn't falter; not even when she was still half deaf and slightly dizzy from James' spinning and utter delight and collected Sirius his cookie as the guy was lifted off his own feet by an overjoyed James as well.

The next two and a half months were spent in utter bliss as Lily removed herself from all Order business while the two doted on her and although she knew that at any other time she would have gotten annoyed by their fierce over-protectiveness she wasn't so much now.

Not when the sheer enthusiasm and excitement dripped off of them in radiant waves, so she held her tongue and simply rolled her eyes when they made her feel like a princess.

For James, everyone expected it; but it saddened her that everyone seemed utterly surprised by Sirius' actions.

People never seemed to see his caring and devoted side; the one that was truly him and that she herself hadn't realised existed until after she had become serious with James.

She had thought him arrogant, spoiled and immature; but she couldn't have been more wrong and more than once she smiled fondly at the memory of him cornering her after she'd agreed to go on a date with James.

He had taken her aside and piercing grey eyes stared at her in threat. "Break his heart, hurt him or play any games with him and I will make the remainder of your life a living hell."

The hard promise in both his eyes and voice should have scared her, but instead it had made her realise just how protective of his friends he was, how far he would go to keep them safe.

It had made Lily discover a side of the prank loving boy, she hadn't thought he was capable of possessing and once she'd proven to him that she wasn't going to play around with his brother's heart, she had gotten the true depth of their personalities.

It had moved her to tears when she learned about Remus' well guarded secret and just how far the other three had gone to help him and although she liked to joke that by dating one Marauder, she had gotten all of them, she wouldn't want it any other way.

Upon being convinced of her honourable intentions; Sirius had let her in and had become an overbearing, protective and adorable brother; giving her a taste of what a true sibling was meant to be like.

Occasionally they bickered about stuff and he would attack her in tickling wars; being everything she had ever wanted a younger sibling to be like, but at the same time she had gained his protection like an older brother would.

He was always going out of his way to help her with little things if he could and now that she was pregnant, he wouldn't let her do a thing any more.

He took over most of the house chores and happily ran to satisfy all her weird cravings without argument while James worked, since outside of the Order, it was close to impossible for him to find a job as a disinherited Black.

Occasionally, when Lily had too much time to think, she couldn't help but be terrified at the mere thought of what might have become of him if the Potters hadn't taken him in.

With his striking good looks and innocent charm; combined with having been raised so unloving, Lily had many fearful thought of just where he'd have ended up and every time the thought crossed her mind it frightened her enough that she felt the irresistible need to hold him close.

And although it never ceased to confuse him when she'd hug him out of the blue, he never shied from it as she learned very quickly that he was an amazingly tactile person with people he trusted completely; often pressing a kiss into her hair and ruffling it up when she got into one of those moods.

All in all, Lily felt like one of the most loved people in the world with those two around her, so when the conversation turned to the war and their expected baby; it was she who immediately suggested Sirius as their baby's godfather.

And while her husband had been overjoyed and readily agreed; it had been Sirius who had been shocked and repeatedly asked if they were truly sure, unsure of their sanity even after they decided he had no say in the matter and just named him so.

James loved to tease him for being a silly idiot, but Sirius' concern just made Lily even surer of her choice, the decision and determination unexpectedly changing the odds as disaster struck once she reached her three month mark.


	2. Chapter 2 - Ten Weeks

Ten weeks.

It came to no surprise to her when James and Sirius all but dragged her to St Mungo when they noticed she had been feeling unwell for two days; feverish and stomach aches attacking her at random intervals.

Initially she had agreed with the Healer who waved off her symptoms as a little stomach bug, but Sirius bodily threw him out of the room and demanded a competent Healer to see to his sister instead of that uneducated idiot.

When the leading Healer had come to defuse the situation, Sirius had laid all the ways the first Healer had been wrong; displaying all his knowledge of Healing magic and causing said Healer to take her complaints a lot more serious and performing various tests.

It had amused both her and James that even as a disinherited Black, he could still make people do what he wanted if he set his mind to it.

But even so, she had been sure she was just coming down with a simple bug and they were overreacting until the leading Healer returned with such a solemn expression all three of them had immediately tensed.

And with good reason as Sirius had been right in his assumptions it was no simple bug.

The Healer spoke of rare and ancient viruses, carriers of genes and how it was not remotely dangerous until she had gotten pregnant with a similar carrier; a long story short, she was to take the antidote and let the baby be aborted or she would die trying to have it.

A revelation that had left her in deep discussion with James.

"No."

"James..."

"No! If there is any danger to you then it is a no, we could always try again, but I am not losing you.

Growling annoyed, Lily clenched her hands as they'd been arguing for the last half hour as she wanted this child, her child, even if it would kill her, but James refused to listen.

"This is our only chance at a child of our own, James. You heard the Healer; the cure will leave me barren. I could survive this if I just take it easy," she pleaded.

"You heard the Healer," he shot back. "It's not an option. It's either you or neither as you won't make it to the end. I want this child, too, Lil. And not just because I need an heir. But if you keep this baby it will kill you and I won't stand by and let that happen."

"It's not a given that I will die, there's just a big chance," she argued, turning to Sirius in hopes of gaining his support as he'd been silent since the news had been delivered. "Siri?"

Looking up at his name, he blinked confused until she asked for his opinion.

"I agree with James that it is not an option to lose you. It might not be a given that you will die, but taking into account that you are already sick at the mere three month mark, it is near impossible that your body will be able to support you to the end of your pregnancy."

He trailed off and James grunted in agreement before Sirius raised a hand. "But I also agree with Lily. This is your child; your only chance at a child of your blood. But more importantly than that, he deserves a chance at life."

"That's not really helpful, Siri," James sighed, blinking when Sirius moved to the door and glanced outside before closing it, casting a Muffliato.

"There isn't a choice for you, not really. Either we lose the baby or we will lose both of you in your attempt to try."

There was logic in his words that Lily really didn't want to hear and she opened her mouth to object when he silenced her with a look.

"I'm not finished yet. What if there was a way to keep both of you alive? Would you take it, even if it meant you wouldn't be carrying your own child any more?"

"What are you talking about?" James asked confused.

"I'm pretty sure you will have heard of a Lunar Ritual?"

"That is very dark and ancient magic, Siri," James frowned even as Lily shook her head. "And impossible to use even if we'd want to because a possible carrier would have to be a close relative and I don't see Petunia doing that for Lily, even if she had the required magic for the spell to work."

"It is difficult, but not impossible."

"It is a vow of trust, loyalty and utter devotion, Siri. None of which applies to Petunia Dursley," James reminded him and Lily waved to get their attention as none of what they said made any sense.

"In the old days, the darker families created a spell that would protect their bloodlines in case the Heir's partner was not trusted. It allowed a loyal close relative to basically steal the foetus and act as a carrier. Due to the shared gene pool already present, the child would not get any significant genes from the carrier, which is why it has to be a close relative to perform the spell."

"Why have I never heard of it?" Lily asked.

"Because it is considered to be very dark magic since they used it to cripple opponents by stealing their heirs to be."

"How do you know about it?" Lily shook her head as the answer already came to her, remembering his upbringing. "What use would it be to steal an heir to be that way?"

"Because they could kill the child upon birth or use it against the family in the long run," James ran a hand through his hair. "What I don't understand is why we are even discussing things that aren't usable."

"That is where you are wrong," Sirius shifted.

"How am I wrong? That woman is not a possibility even if we would want to use her."

"I wasn't thinking of her."

"No," realising where Sirius was going, James shook his head fiercely. "Absolutely not."

"Who were you thinking off?" Lily looked at Sirius confused.

"Me. James and I are cousins through my grandfather and his mother, so we are related. But more importantly, our gene pools match because James blood adopted me personally into his family with our parent's consent."

"I didn't do that for you to risk your life like this," James growled.

"What blood adoption?" Lily waved him off, staring at Sirius.

"I ran away from Grimmauld place Christmas of fifth year; convinced I was pretty much worthless and unwanted everywhere. James forcefully reminded me that I was an idiot and had a family in him. To make sure I would never doubt my place again, he performed a blood ritual, making us blood brothers. Officially I do not carry the Potter name, but to magic itself, I am James' little brother."

"A close relative with a matching gene pool," Lily took a deep breath as she began to understand what Sirius was saying.

"Exactly."

"You are nuts if you think I'm agreeing to this," James bit out. "Not only is it extremely dangerous, you would be giving up your own choice in an heir of your own since our baby would automatically be named as such. Not to mention that you would be burdened with carrying a foetus for six months."

"You named me his godfather, isn't it in my duty to do everything in my power to protect my godchild?"

"In the events of our deaths, yes! James exclaimed upset.

"If I am not mistaken, then that is exactly where Lily is going right now. She will die to protect her child."

James spluttered as the harsh, but true words and Sirius sighed. "I am well aware of what I am offering and you know I can't have children, they made sure of that a long time ago. You agreed when I told you I wanted to perform a blood adoption ritual once the baby is born to give him the added protection of my bloodline and make him my heir as well. So that is not an issue."

James didn't look convinced at all and Lily stared at the two of them uncertainty as Sirius reached forward to take his hand.

"Who has ever said that a godparent's duty only starts once the baby is born? As I see it, there are two choices. We either lose both of them in her attempt to have him or we try to ritual and actually have a fairly solid chance of keeping both of them alive."

"You are truly serious about this?" Lily whispered as she tried to remain objectively and think this through before jumping into it with both hands.

"I am," at her hesitation he turned to her with a faint smile. "I promise that I would be really careful with your child, Lil."

"That is not something I even question, I trust you completely," Lily waved that off. "I'm just worried about you, will it cause you harm?"

"Not as far as I know," he answered honestly, not giving her false reassurance.

"If we would decide to do this, how would it work?" she tried to keep the hope flaring in her squashed down, not daring to hope for this miracle just yet.

"I would have to suck the baby out of your bellybutton with a straw; drain you of your blood while dancing around under the full moonlight and push it into mine."

For a long moment, Lily could only stare at him in utter horror; until James choked out a laugh despite his tension and Sirius' stony expression broke into a smile.

"That was horrible," James coughed. "Even for our standards."

"It was," Sirius readily agreed. "But it broke the tension. We just need to cast a spell, perform a small ritual with blood and drink a potion. And it might be a good idea to be sitting down while we're doing so."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to assume we'll pass out and it's less painful to just fall over than to drop from a chair."

"Have you thought this through at all?" James asked. "How would you handle the birth?"

"I've thought about this the entire time you guys were arguing. My best bet would be caesarean section, but we'd have time to discuss those options. I've already read all the baby books so I know what I could expect and I'm pretty sure I can count on your help."

"If we do this...and that is a big if, we would have to keep it a secret from everyone," James looked horrified that he was even considering the idea and he sat down on the edge of the bed heavily.

"Because it is dark magic?" Lily asked as Sirius sat down on the chair and squeezed his hand in comfort.

"It isn't just dark; it is borderline and very illegal."

"How illegal? Thrown into Azkaban kind of illegal?" Lily asked worriedly.

"The Kissed on capture kind of illegal," Sirius admitted. "We all risked a long time in Azkaban to become Animagi to help Remus. I don't see the difference."

"I do," James choked out. "Five years in Azkaban or losing your life is a very big difference."

"I'd prefer the latter," at the words, James' head snapped up to stare at Sirius in disbelief before he deflated as he seemed to consider Sirius' words and nodded slowly.

"But if we do this right, we won't get caught and that's not even an issue," Sirius lightly said.

"What makes you possible think I would ever be all right with you endangering yourself like that?" James growled as fear etched into his every essence. "I refuse to let Lily risk her life like that...how could you even think..."

"James, we don't know if it will be dangerous. What I know of the ritual never mentioned any danger to the carrier beyond being murdered by opponents," seeing that didn't really comfort James, Sirius knelt down before him, slipping his hands in James'. "How about I promise to be completely open about how I feel at all times?"

James swallowed as he visibly debated with himself; his expression one of pure agony that Lily didn't fully understood until he spoke.

"You swear...you solemnly swear that you would tell us the truth about your feelings? You swear that you will let me take care of you, allow me to keep you safe and protect you; without argument? You swear...you..." James choked on a sob and Lily realised that he was terrified what this would do to Sirius. How it could hurt him on James' watch.

"I solemnly swear that I will try. I will try not to argue even if you drive me crazy with over protectiveness. I will even let you run any weird cravings I might get or let you rub my feet if they swell up."

James' mouth twitched even as he tightened his grip. "Are you truly, absolutely and utterly sure about this?"

The fear was now mixing with a hint of hope that Lily could understand wholeheartedly as this meant they might be able to save their baby.

"I am. I want this little Prongslet as much as you two do, James."

"I'm noticing that," James pulled Sirius into a fierce hug.

"How are we going to do this if it's illegal and we need to keep the both of us hidden?" Lily was able to see the unsaid consent in James' gesture as he held his brother tightly.

"I've come down with a rare variation of a contagious Muggle disease; something you have already had as a child. You; against Healer's advice you have decided to try and have your baby anyway. And because that means complete bed rest for you and I am no danger to you or your unborn child, we've decided that I can keep you company during this time as I am unemployed anyway," he squeezed James' hand.

"It will allow James to leave any mission they put him on regularly since I cannot leave the house due to the contagion; something he's not in danger of getting either because he's been in close contact with Muggles as a child himself and has already had it, too."

"That's brilliant," James nodded. "And it is believable because you have been coughing and sneezing your head off during the last Order meeting last week."

"Only due to your mis-aimed pepper prank," Sirius chuckled. "But that is where I got the idea."

"What about Remus, Peter and your parents?"

"We will need Mum's help as a retired Healer. She could take care of Sirius and the baby medically," James said.

"True. I would prefer it if Remus and Peter didn't know about it, though. Not because I don't trust them completely, but for their own safety," Sirius admitted. "James has very strong Occlumency shields, neither of them does. If they knew and are captured while on a mission, they would try to keep the information hidden and be tortured because of it. I refuse to endanger them like that."

"I agree. Both would indeed keep our secret; but it would be dangerous for them to be involved in this. When the two of you disappear for so long, it will call the attention of both sides and if Voldemort feels like we are trying to hide anything; they'll be the first targets. The fewer people involved, the better," James nodded.

"Won't Remus be suspicious if you don't come home for six months?"

"Lil, he hasn't been home since before you revealed you were pregnant. He's been sleeping in the second bedroom for over three months now."

"I know, who do you think kicked him off the couch and into that room? But he still went home occasionally, right?"

"Not really. I've been keeping you company so much because my own house is too empty with Remus constantly on long term missions. James has been picking up some spare clothes for me after his work so he could swing by now and retrieve all I might need. He could tell Remus I'm staying with you both to sit out the illness so neither of us will be left alone," Sirius sighed. "I hate lying to him, but he's barely home and won't really miss me anyway."

"And I could keep him company on the full moons that he might be home. It is only for six months."

"So...are we doing this?" Sirius looked at James for confirmation.

"You truly are sure? What if you get hurt unexpectedly?" Lily asked the question she knew was on James' mind.

"I won't lie; I don't know what might happen, if there will be trouble or not. But I am sure that I want to do this for you; for my godson. I am sure about this," he directed the last part at his best friend as they both knew she'd asked for his benefit as he had always been overprotective of him and this wouldn't sit well with that instilled desire to protect him from harm.

"Okay...let's do this," James agreed after a long moment, taking a deep breath.

Upon reaching their agreement, they quickly discharged Lily against the Healer's wishes and returned home before James and Sirius set out to collect the ingredients needed for the old potion.

They took the precaution to travel around the country to pick up them up so even if someone saw them buy something at one place, they'd not put the pieces together of what they were after. And while he was at it, Sirius made sure to be seen looking ill, sneezing and coughing while trembling fiercely to help plant the roots of their cover story.

Once they had gathered everything, Lily set out to brew the necessary potion on Sirius' instructions; having it ready by the time evening fell.

"What else do we need?" she asked once Sirius had confirmed the potion was indeed done and lowered the fire below the cauldron to a minimum.

"A bowl, a ceremonial knife, cushions and a straw," Sirius grinned, making Lily laugh as James set out to gather the mentioned items from various rooms.

"It might be smart if you both kneel down onto a pillow and I spread several more around you, less chance you might hurt yourself if you should indeed collapse."

Agreeing to that, Sirius placed the empty bowl between them while James gathered pillows and spread them around before sitting between them.

"Shouldn't we alert your mum before we do this? So she can keep an eye on us?" Lily asked.

"Better wait. She won't agree with our choice right again and we'll lose precious time trying to convince her," James disagreed.

"All set, ready?" Sirius held up the knife.

Taking a deep breath Lily nodded and with a small wince she watched Sirius slide the knife through the palm of his left hand. Blood quickly welled up as he squeezed and let it flow freely into the bowl while starting to murmur a very long and complicated sounding spell under his breath.

He handed the knife to Lily, who followed his example and let her blood drop into the bowl too, trying not to grimace at the sharp stab of pain.

She turned her attention back to Sirius for the next step, only to see his right hand outstretched for the knife and carefully she placed it in there, not daring to try and turn it with one hand.

So she blinked surprised when he folded his fingers around the blade and pushed his skin into it as he pushed his hand back slowly, grimacing.

Once blood was also dripping from that hand freely he expertly turned the knife in his hand and held it out to James, who took it without a word to slide his left hand open with a painful wince.

He then entwined his bleeding hand with Sirius' right one and held out his own right hand to Lily and understanding that the particular way they were slicing their palms was part of the ritual, she quickly took the knife from him so that he could slide his right one open as well.

At his indication, she passed the knife into Sirius' bleeding left hand so that she could do the same before James entwined their hands and Sirius took her right; holding it in place when she made to move it towards the bowl as well.

Aware they shouldn't talk, she held back her questions and simply watched as the boys moved their entwined hands above the bowl; squeezing slightly to combine their blood as it fell down before James tugged on her own and she let him pull it above the bowl; repeating their action before Sirius did the same with her right.

While Sirius had explained it wasn't strictly necessary for James to be included; they had agreed that it would strengthen the ritual as the freely given blood and already existing blood bond between the two would boost the spell and give both the baby and Sirius extra protection.

Sirius and James released her hands simultaneously, not needing a word between them as her husband Summoned the cauldron from the fire while Sirius lifted the bowl, not paying attention to his still bleeding palms.

With a nod Sirius let their combined blood drip slowly into the dark purple potion while James stirred.

Under normal circumstances she would be more involved when it came to potion making, but she knew nothing about this potion and it was too dangerous to let anything go wrong.

So she just watched closely as they prepared the next step, stirring and adding the blood until the potion turned silvery blue.

Unexpectedly both men smiled as Sirius stopped muttering and straightened the bowl.

"He's still healthy," he commented, placing the bowl back on the ground.

"So you are sure it's a boy?" breathing out relieved at the knowledge her baby was still healthy, Lily smiled at the blue potion.

"Yes, if it was a girl the potion would have turned a golden pink," smiling Sirius squeezed her hand before he picked up two silver goblets, embossed with the Potter family crest.

Dipping them into the cauldron to fill them he looked at James, who raised his wand and touched both of the goblets with the tip of his wand while murmuring a blessing, nodding when the potion remained unchanged.

Turning to her Sirius held up the goblets. "Tip your wand against both to give your blessing as a witch and the mother."

Doing as told she looked hopeful when the potions began to glow brighter, gasping as they glowed brightly when Sirius gave his own blessing before setting them down.

"It's ready," he confirmed what Lily had already realised and she looked up to him.

"You are still absolutely sure?" Choking out a laugh as Sirius only raised his eyebrow; she nodded and took a deep breath. She had known they were trying to save her baby, but it only now sunk in what it truly meant.

She would lose it, even if they didn't do this and the only reason he had a chance was sitting right across of her, waiting patiently. Without Sirius, their baby would never see the daylight or take a single breath.

He was willing to risk himself to help them save their baby; to protect him and give him a chance. Him...their son; the son of his best friends and a wave of gratitude washed over her as she looked into his warm grey eyes; flushing any regret she felt at not being able to carry her baby herself away as she nodded and raised her goblet.

"We need to drink at the same time?" She said in answer, trying to show him how much this meant to her with her eyes alone as she didn't think she would be able to voice something that had no words and he wouldn't accept anyway.

"You have to drink first. Now might be a good time to warn Mum, James. I don't know what'll happen, but it's better to be safe than sorry and she can immediately monitor us that way," he advised.

"Right," James hurried of to the fireplace, returning moments later. "They are on their way."

"Ready?" raising his goblet, Lily nodded and brought it to her mouth, grimacing at the coppery, metallic taste invading her mouth, but she forced herself to ignore the nausea that rose with it and emptied it as soon as she could before placing it down.

A sharp pain shot through her once Sirius raised his own goblet and she didn't pay attention to him emptying his as it increased momentarily before passing as quickly as it had arrived.

Frowning, she looked down at her stomach before a loud clattering made her look up in time to see Sirius had let go of his empty goblet and was almost folded double in pain, James kneeling down beside him and holding him up as he clearly couldn't do it himself.

"Is he..." alarm rushed over her as he collapsed against James; going boneless in second and she moved instinctively to crawl over to him, but that single movement was enough to blacken her vision.


	3. Ten Weeks part 2

Still ten weeks.

The first sounds penetrating through the fog in her mind as she slowly came to were faint voices in the distance and she could feel she was lying on a bed with blankets loosely covering her.

"Left…other left," an incredibly familiar voice Lily couldn't place right that instant, put her at ease as she knew it was a safe one and told her she wasn't in any danger.

Waking up with no idea what had happened wasn't something completely new as it had happened more than once in this way; but she usually woke in pain where there was none now.

"I can sense her heart beat increasing, I think she's coming around," another, even more familiar voice spoke and her mind kindly provided her with a name this time.

Sirius...the baby!

Gasping she sat up, the events of the ritual and their decision rushing back to her with the identity of the speaker.

"Easy love," her father-in-law, Charlus, placed a gentle hand on her back as she began to cough with the sudden movement. "You are all right."

"James, she's awake," Sirius' voice ran out but as she turned to look at him, her vision was blocked by the hurried approach of her husband.

"Thank Merlin, you are awake. I was so worried," relieved he pulled her into a hug and she blinked.

"How long was I out?"D-did it work?" she attempted to see past him.

"You were both out for a full day and although I am very alarmed that the three of you would perform such dangerous and dark magic; I think you will be happy to learn it indeed worked."

Dorea spoke from beyond where she could see, so Lily gently pulled back from James' embrace and slung her legs over the bed edge, relieved as there was no nausea or pain.

"It truly worked? He is safe?" her breathing stocked as she caught sight of Sirius; who like her, was sitting sideward on another bed. He looked extremely pale and was trembling slightly, but otherwise looked all right as Dorea was fussing over him.

"Yeah," he gave her a small smile even as Dorea frowned.

"It indeed worked perfectly. Although this one here hasn't exactly been made to carry life so he's been experiencing some strong pains during the night as his body has been adjusting to this dark magic's spell."

"It is worth it, Mum," Sirius murmured, closing his eyes as Dorea caressed his cheek before hurriedly wrapping an arm around his shoulders to keep him steady as he swayed a little.

Concerned, Lily tensed, but Dorea didn't seem worried and her gaze was drawn to her belly. The very slight bulge that had started to develop was completely gone, making her swallow painfully and rise to her feet; needing Sirius to be the one to reassure her.

"Is he truly safe?" she repeated her question once more, trying to hold back her tears as she knew she was no longer carrying a small life and readily stepped into his embrace as he opened his arms, aware from the slight swaying before that he wasn't able to get up.

"He's fine," he whispered in her ear as he pulled her close and she choked on a sob at the confirmation; making him tighten his hold as tears began to flow down as delayed emotions made themselves known.

She had been so focused on trying to save him that she had pushed everything else back, not wanting to think about the fact that she'd never experience the growth in her belly.

After a few moments, she became aware that James had wrapped his arms around her from behind; effectively cocooning her between them protectively and taking a deep breath, he squeezed his arm softly.

"How can you be sure?" not caring that her eyes were red trimmed, she looked up into his tired grey ones.

"I just do...I think its part of Padfoot that allows me to be aware of his well-being as I can sense his heartbeat. But I asked Mum to wait with a magical ultrasound until you had regained consciousness."

"Why wait? Didn't you want confirmation that he's truly all right?"

"I already do, but at any rate, don't you think him Mummy should be present when we see him for the first time?"

A slow smile spread over her lips as his words registered.

"I didn't lose him."

"No, he is just slightly further away than he should be," Sirius calmly rested her hand onto his clothed abdomen; allowing her to feel the slight swelling in his stomach that she was very positive hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him. And while she hadn't been able to see anything while standing, she could definitely feel the difference now.

"We succeeded...we truly did," she whispered and must have thanked him multiple times as she threw her arms around him once more, but he only kissed her cheek and rubbed her back softly.

"We did. What do you say, ready to see your baby for the first time?"

"Lie down and pull your shirt up," Dorea ordered and not letting go of Lily's hand, Sirius did as he was told. "We are not happy that the three of you did this without informing us beforehand; James explained your reasoning and we do understand and will help you pull this off. We will monitor them both and hold your secret."

"Thank you," Lily smiled and made to move off the bed but Sirius' grip tightened.

"Where are you going?"

"Giving Dorea room to work?" confused she turned to him but he only snorted and pulled her back onto the bed beside him, forcing her to lay down.

She had to swallow a lump in her throat as although she had not for a moment feared he would shun her and would involve her in every aspect; she had expected him to want a bit of privacy in distance during moments like these.

To know he wasn't uncomfortable with her proximity warmed her heart and his insistence that they wait for her until she was able to actually see the baby, too, told her more than anything that for him, nothing had changed.

So she couldn't help herself but to reach up and kiss his cheek before resting her cheek on his shoulder in gratitude, laughing at the confusion on his face.

Lily's gaze fell onto his bared torso, but didn't comment on the scars littered there as she had known of their existence. But as he had never volunteered information on them and they clearly made him uncomfortable, she had never asked as it wasn't her place.

She instinctively reached out now, though, to touch the light bulge clearly visible on his normally very flat stomach, stopping herself just before she actually touched him.

Because although he was very tactile and had never shied away from her touch before, it somehow felt more intimately to do so on bare skin and she wasn't quite sure he would be comfortable with that despite his earlier actions.

"You're an idiot," he chuckled and taking her hand, rested it on his abdomen calmly. "I think we've passed the normal boundaries of intimacy between siblings quite a few hours ago, Lil."

Chuckling as she realised he was right, she spread out her hand on his stomach and although it was much too early to be able to feel anything, the contact make her feel connected to her child much more.

"How does a magical ultrasound work?" she asked as James calmly sprawled out on the bed on Sirius' other side, his hand joining hers without hesitation now that she was settled.

"I cast a spell that will show us an image of what is going on in there," Dorea explained, also having stayed back to give her a moment. "If we are lucky, we might be able to see him move a bit; though I am not sure if he will be very active after that ritual as he's still settling in so don't worry if he's still."

"It might be hard to conjure a proper image as the ritual you used is what formed the womb and protects the baby from everything, including magic," Charlus added as Dorea moved her wand over Sirius' abdomen.

"So the womb acts like a protective barrier?" James asked.

"Yes."

Suddenly a blurry image rose and Lily breathed out in awe as her baby was revealed to her for the first time and she could easily detect his small head and what looked like thin arms as the baby seemed to simply float around in the womb.

"Merlin..." Lily could only nod in agreement to James' exclamation, unable to tear her eyes away from the image of her son.

"What is that sound?" she realised there was a quick thumping sound that filled the room.

"His heartbeat, it's what I can sense through Padfoot," Sirius' voice was just as emotional as Lily herself felt and he squeezed her hand on his stomach. "We truly did it."

Understanding what he'd meant with knowing the baby was all right now as it was a magnificent sound; Lily was finally able to tear her eyes from the image to look up into shining grey eyes with a brilliant smile. "We did."

Laying there with the three of them, they stared at the image in silence for several long moments, just drinking in the sight of him before James swallowed.

"It's so quick."

"That is very normal, honey. He looks completely healthy and comfortable where he is. Can you see the light movements of his forming arms and legs?" Dorea pointed out what she meant. "That is him moving in the amniotic fluids. You can also see the womb around him is strong and thick as no fluid is leaking out at any point. It is your combined magic that is keeping him perfectly safe inside of Sirius."

"Our magic truly created that?" Lily looked at it perplex.

"That is what the potion was for," Charlus explained. "Because Sirius doesn't have a natural womb the baby could be moved into, you had to create one. If he had been female, just the blood ritual would have been enough."

He pointed to the light discolorations they could see weaving through the fluids around the baby. "That is Sirius' own magic, boosting the womb's magical defences even more."

Lily smiled as Charlus and Dorea stared at the image of their grandson with shimmering eyes as well before it vanished again all of a sudden.

"Next time we might be able to look a little longer, but it is unwise to try and penetrate the womb like this any longer so shortly after it was formed," Dorea smiled at their alarm.

"Will there be any danger for either of them?" James helped Sirius push his shirt down again as he looked utterly tired and smiled as he helped him sit up again.

"As long as he takes it easy and listens to his body, they should both be fine," Dorea sighed as Sirius yawned. "He will experience fatigue a lot more than most pregnant women would because most of his magic is working to keep the baby safe. This is why I will advice you against using magic as much as you can."

"I won't. I will also take the vitamins and other pills Lily had to take as instructed," pulling his wand out of his sleeve, Sirius handed it over to James for safe keeping as he shifted into a sidewards position again.

"Why does he have to take those vitamins?" Lily asked. "He eats a lot healthier than I do, doesn't he?"

"While his life style holds plenty of variation, it is never harmful to add some necessary vitamins when there is a life growing inside of you. You already know what you can and cannot eat, what you should pay attention to and to be careful," Dorea smiled as Sirius nodded in confirmation.

"There is nothing else I can think of to warn you for right now. I will come over once a week to check you both," Dorea turned to Lily. "You should take it easy for the next few days, too. You have already been administered the antidote while you were sleeping; to prevent you from experiencing the side effects in full force so you are as healthy as you can be. I will look you over to be certain when I come over as well. However, if you feel like anything is wrong before that, I want you to Floo call me immediately."

Turning back to Sirius, she placed a hand on his cheek. "That especially goes for you, too. I am grateful you are doing this, but I expect you to pay very close attention to your own health. If there is anything, anything at all, then you contact us no matter what time it is, understood?"

"Yes Mum," Sirius promised, leaning into her touch unconsciously.

"Any instructions for me?" James tried to school his expression so it didn't give away his brilliant smile but Lily thought he rather failed at it, even if Sirius didn't seem to notice.

"Look after these two. Make sure Sirius is comfortable and listens to his own body. Also, I want you to make sure he doesn't become overly emotional as his control over his magic might waver with strong emotions. And..."

"If anything happens I am to immediately alert you," James interrupted her with a warm smile.

"Don't get smart with me, young man," she tapped his nose with her index finger, making him pout.

"Sorry Mum," laughing, James pulled her into a hug.

"If only you meant that," she patted his back lovingly before turning to give both Lily and Sirius one as well. "You might want to keep an eye on him as well, just to make sure he behaves."

"We will. If he is very annoying, I will just tell him Sirius wants all sorts of crazy things so that he has to run around," Lily confided to her as Charlus stepped forward to give each of them a hug as well and James pouted.

"Be careful. I will spread some more knowledge about Sirius' failing health and complain that between our rascals and your stubbornness you are giving us a full head of grey hair," he teasingly ran a hand through his very grey hair, making them laugh.

"Thanks Dad, that will make my job of trying to convince the Order and keeping them safe and hidden a lot easier," James nodded.

"How will you handle Dumbledore?" Dorea asked. "Because I really would prefer for him to not know about this, but he will want to see them both eventually."

"Tough luck for him. If Remus and Peter cannot visit then my old Headmaster certainly isn't welcome," James' expression hardened. "I am under firm instructions to keep Sirius quarantined and Lily completely stress-free."

"And if he tries to change your mind regardless?" Lily asked.

"Then I am hexing him. I will not allow any risk to come to my family; they come very far before any Order business."

"And he will have to deal with me as well. I don't care who he is, but he will not disturb our family without having to answer to me," Charlus added as he sat down between Lily and Sirius, wrapping an arm around Sirius' waist as the other leaned against him automatically, resting his head against his shoulder.

"You would go against Dumbledore for us?"

"I will do anything to protect my children," Charlus pulled her against his side as well. "And you should know by now that that includes you, love."

"And now that the three of you are doing this to give us a grandchild, we will both fight heaven and hell to keep you safe if we have to," Dorea added, a warm smile forming on her lips. "Although we might want to do that quietly as someone was clearly exhausted."

Glancing past Charlus, Lily was surprised to Sirius had indeed fallen asleep despite the ongoing conversation. "Is he all right?"

"He is just very tired. His body has gone through quite the chance in a short period and it will need time to adjust properly. He will probably remain tired for several days so just keep him comfortable and warm as he sleeps when its needed," Charlus pressed a kiss into his hair before expertly manoeuvring him into the bed properly without waking him.

"Gosh, I can't even remember how often you've done that since he came to live with us," James' eyes twinkled as he looked down at his little brother warmly.

"I seem to remember bringing you to bed often enough as well," Charlus shot back, ruffling his son's hair.

"We should go home and let you all get some rest. You know how to reach us should you need us, else we will return at the end of the week," Dorea smiled as James led his parents to the fireplace so they could travel back home before returning to her side.

"Are you all right?" he softly asked, clearly not wanting to wake Sirius, so Lily simply nodded as she pulled her husband into an embrace for a long moment.

"Why don't we stay in the room with him until he wakes again?" she softly asked, aware James would worry over him even more than usual now and wouldn't want to leave his side so soon, even if Sirius had curled up on his side and was sleeping soundly.

"Would you mind? I'd feel more comfortable if I can keep an eye on him for now," he admitted.

"I would have objected if you hadn't wanted to do so," Lily smiled as she stepped out of his embrace. "I'll grab a book for us to read to pass the time."

"Let me do that, you should take it easy as well," James hurried out of the room so Lily made herself comfortable on the other bed again, wondering vaguely when the two spare beds had been shoved into what she'd began to think of Sirius' room before she realised they wouldn't have wanted them in separate rooms while they were unconscious.

As James returned, he handed her a book and sat down on the chair between the beds, glancing at Sirius for a long moment.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of him," she reassured him. "He's not alone and I'm not leaving his side during this."

"I know," James didn't look convinced, though so Lily took his hand.

"I was terrified when I first realised I was pregnant, but he was there for me and calmed my nerves. He didn't sugar-coat things for me to lie and say everything would be fine, but just told me that whatever might happen, we'd get through it together. And that still stands for me."

Finally a smile crossed James' lips as he nodded. "Have I ever thanked you for being an amazing wife?"

"I should thank you for giving me such a wonderful and loving family," she leaned forward to kiss him softly, happy she was able to lay some of his lingering fears to rest.

"We'll do this together. You, me and Sirius, just like we should," she repeated, believing that more thoroughly now than ever before.

Accepting the affirmative rumbling noise from James as agreement, she settled back into her own bed, letting James return to keeping an eye on Sirius and she couldn't help but smile as although she opened her book, she never actually read a single word of it as her gaze remained on Sirius as well.


	4. Chapter 4 - Eleven Weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Same warnings as chapter 1

A Godfather´s Duty : Chapter 4 

Warnings: See chapter 1

Chapter 4– Eleven weeks.

The slamming of the front door startled Lily and Sirius out of a light slumber violently a few days after the ritual had occurred.

“Lil! Siri!” James’ voice was urgent and hurried footsteps broke the silence once more, causing them to stiffen.

“In the living room,” Lily answered while trying to suppress a yawn and sitting up.

Sirius was more alert as he swiftly moved from the couch to meet James at the living room door. 

“James? What’s wrong?”

“Voldemort,” he answered gravely as he grabbed Sirius’ hand and pulled him with him to Lily.

“We need to hide our location and do it now before I even begin to explain things,” he said hurriedly as he grabbed her hand too to pull her from the couch.

“The Fidelius Charm?” Sirius asked as he looked at his best friend worriedly and Lily frowned to his pulling.

“Yes. For now we’ll use Lily as the Secret Keeper as I’ll have to be the one to cast it. We can switch to you after the baby is born to avoid any suspicion,” James said as dragged them both into the garden before letting go of Lily’s hand to grab his wand.

Lily shared a confused glance with Sirius but they both held their tongue as James cast the complicated spell before Lily immediately shared the secret with them both.

“Get back inside,” James ordered as she turned to him for an explanation.

“Honestly James, you are scaring me. What’s going on?” Sirius asked as he let James pull him back into the house again and onto the couch without struggling against his strong grip.

Quietly Lily took a seat beside him while looking at James worriedly.

“You both know Dumbledore called for me early this morning. Frank and Alice Longbottom were there too,” he explained as he started to pace before them. “There was a Prophecy made a few days ago.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in Divination,” Sirius asked confused.

“I don’t, but Dumbledore says Voldemort knows about it too and he’s certainly going to believe it.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with us?” Lily asked as she watched her husband pace.

“Because Dumbledore believes this prophecy is about either our unborn son or the Longbottom’s and he thinks Voldemort will come to the same conclusion soon enough,” James revealed.

“What was the prophecy?” Sirius asked, reaching a hand out to pull James to a stop so that he’d look at them.

“He showed me....here,” James left the room to collect their Pensieve and placed it onto the table. He deposited a memory in there before probing it with his wand to activate the memory.

An unfamiliar female rose out of it, dressed in shawls and wearing abnormal big glasses which magnified her eyes. When she spoke her voice was harsh and hoarse.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."

As she dissolved again silence followed as all three of them stared at the Pensieve in shock.

“How does Dumbledore know about this?” Lily finally asked as she tried to work through her shock.

“It was made to him by an applicant for the position of Divination,” James answered.

“How would Voldemort know about it then?” Sirius frowned.

“Because a Death Eater apparently overheard part of it before he was caught and thrown out of the bar where Dumbledore was interviewing her. And he said the Death Eater will have told his master by now.”

“Why on earth would he hold an interview in a bar? Is Hogwarts not good enough for that sort of thing anymore?” Sirius asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Who cares? Why would it lead him to believe it is our child?” upset Lily turned to Sirius.

“Because the baby is expected at the end of July?” he offered uncertainly.

“Because only two couples fit the description,” James answered. “At least, that’s what Dumbledore said.”

“Only two couples are expecting a baby in July?” Sirius asked sceptically.

“No, but he discovered that of all those expecting a baby in July only two have stood before Voldemort and lived to tell the tale thrice,” James explained.

“That’s not true, we haven’t defied him three times,” Lily argued as she realised something.

“I said the same thing, we only defied him twice but Dumbledore said that when we refused to join him after finishing Hogwarts we technically defied him too.” 

“No...I was counting that time. I’ve only come face to face with that monster twice,” Lily argued, certain of it.

“Are you absolutely sure?” James asked as he looked at her.

“Yes. You faced him three times, I only faced him twice,” Lily looked up to him, hoping this meant they had nothing to worry about.

“Then that means...” James sounding relieved before Sirius interrupted him softly.

“I have,” they both turned to look at him immediately.

“You have what?” Lily asked.

“Defied him thrice,” Sirius spoke without looking at her.

“Yeah, but you aren’t the parent, the baby doesn’t have your DNA so it doesn’t ....,” James argued.

“That’s not what the wording said,” Sirius interrupted once more.

“What?” both looked at him confused.

Sirius sighed. “Born to those who have thrice defied him....it doesn’t say parents. It says born to those.....”

“It’s the same thing, “James exclaimed as he interrupted Sirius this time.

“No...It isn’t,” Lily whispered. “Prophecy is vague, but its wording is always exact. If she had meant parents she would have said born to parents who have thrice defied him. Sirius is right, the wording didn’t say parents.” 

She turned to Sirius.

“How did you defy Voldemort three times? You and James have only defied him twice and he never asked you to join him like he asked us.”

“Christmas of sixth year. My parents gave me a choice, join him or die. I refused and managed to get away before they killed me. That´s when I defied him for the first time,” Sirius gave her an apologising glance before he turned his attention back to James, who seemed to have realised something, too.

“If you are right, then that explains why the Prophecy wasn’t made before now. Dumbledore said it occurred during an interview in the evening five days ago. That was around the same time we performed the ritual. It only became valid because Sirius took over the pregnancy.”

“Meaning that it is my fault your child is in danger,” Sirius suddenly looked scared as he jumped up again. “I’m the reason you will be in danger...”

“No!” Lily interrupted him, grabbing his arm to pull him down beside her again. “Without you we would never be able to have this baby in the first place. This is not your fault, even if our actions will endanger us. I was willing to die to try and bring this baby into the world and I still feel the same way. I’ll do anything to keep my baby safe, prophecy or not.”

“But I...”

“Lily is right, Siri. Even if the ritual is the reason why the Prophecy was made, I don’t regret performing it for a second. You gave us the chance at saving our own child and for that I can never feel regret,” James lifted Sirius’ chin so he had to look up to him.

“All three of us are targets of Voldemort and his lackeys for refusing to join him. Even if there was no Prophecy this child would still be a target too, simply because he could be used as a lever against us,” James’ eyes softened as he saw the emotion in his best friend’s eyes.

“You are giving us the most beautiful gift we could have ever imagined. Don’t you dare to ever feel guilty for doing this for us. Don’t feel responsible for endangering us by enabling us to have this child, our child. We all agreed to this, not just you. I would gladly give my life if it meant keeping him safe and you know Lily feels the same way as I know you do, too, or you would never have offered to do this, right?”

He smiled as Sirius gave a small nod to confirm his words. “This new information just meant that we had to go into hiding a bit more seriously.”

“Which is why you cast the Fidelius Charm,” Lily realised. “No one can find us now, meaning we are perfectly safe and it has added benefits.” 

“Such as?” James asked as he sat down on Sirius’ other side.

“It keeps me and Sirius hidden. Unless I tell someone where we are, they won’t be able to find us. I will give you a note to pass the Secret to your parents but we can use this as an added excuse as to why we remain out of contact with everyone. After all, any suspected knowledge of our whereabouts will endanger them.”

Sirius glanced from her to James, his eyes still worried as he turned to James and grabbed his shirt.

“Swear to me that you will be careful if you go out there. With this hanging over your heads you will become an even bigger target than you already are and I can’t watch your back,” he pleaded.

James looked at him for a long moment before he wrapped his arms around Sirius’ shoulders to pull him close, letting him rest his head against his shoulder.

“I solemnly swear I will be careful, that I will watch my back while you are unable to.”

Sirius stiffened for a moment before he wrapped his arms around James’ waist and relaxed against him.

“Don’t you dare get hurt,” he murmured into his shoulder while he tightened his hold for a moment.

James squeezed him a bit more tightly against himself before placing a kiss in his hair. “I’ll try my hardest not to get hurt as long as you don’t let these silly thoughts of guilt enter your head anymore.”

“Actually, you don’t have to leave at all,” Lily softly broke the moment as she rubbed Sirius’ back softly, trying to comfort him too.

“What do you mean?” James asked.

“We are in hiding aren’t we? I’m supposedly not to have any stress. Knowing you are out there, risking your life is pretty stressful and thus dangerous for me. So for the safety of our unborn child you can’t go on missions because it might mean I’ll lose the baby,” Lily spoke logically.

“And since they don’t know it is Sirius who’s carrying the baby...” James trailed off.

“You can safely stay here with us for the entire pregnancy?” Sirius asked hopeful as he looked up to him. 

“Exactly,” Lily smiled.

“But who’d do groceries and stuff like that? Get any weird cravings Sirius has in the middle of the night?” James asked.

“We could ask your parents if we could borrow one of their House Elves for the time being. They can travel freely to places without being in danger as many people send their House Elves for groceries and they will keep the secret to themselves,” Lily suggested.

“It wouldn’t endanger them?” Sirius asked as he turned slightly so that he could look at Lily.

“Not likely. We could always tell them to get to safety the moment they feel they are in danger,” James answered for her before he turned Sirius back to him.

“Would it make you feel better if I stayed here while you are pregnant?” he asked softly.

Sirius stared into his eyes for a long moment before he nodded slowly.

“Then I’ll have Lily write that note for mum and dad while passing along the request. I’ll use the Floo to do so,” he pressed another kiss to Sirius’ forehead before releasing him back into a sitting position and gave Lily a kiss. 

He stood up and made his way to the fire place before he paused.

“I guess it’s a good thing we locked our Floo Connection so that only Potter Manor is able to connect after the ritual. Saves us some worries now.”

“Hmmm.....hey James?” Sirius asked, making him turn around.

“Yeah?”

“Could you see if mum has some of those nice watermelons lying around? And maybe an apple?” Sirius bit his lip as he looked at him hopefully.

James let out a snort at his hopeful expression. “Wow, your first craving is watermelon and apples? I had really thought you’d want tons of chocolate like Lily did.”

“No...I just want those, and maybe some strawberries or cherries if she happens to have them.”

“I’m sure that with mum’s garden that won’t be much of a problem. I’ll just take a bag full of different kinds of fruit with me and you can choose what you want. Anything else?”

“A bar of white chocolate,” Sirius replied immediately, making both Lily and James frown.

“You hate white chocolate,” James commented.

“It’s not for me but for you and Lily,” Sirius grinned shamelessly.

“So we don’t get any fruit?” James teased as he picked up the Floo Powder.

“Only if you bring enough,” was the reply shot back and laughing James threw a handful into the fire before stepping into the green fires and disappearing to Potter Manor.


	5. Chapter 5 - Thirteen Weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Because I probably won't be able to update before next week I've decided to add the newest chapter early. Hope you enjoyed it and remember, reviews are always loved.

Chapter 5 - Thirteen weeks.

"What is that smell?" Lily wrinkled her nose as she entered the kitchen early in the morning to find James and Sirius already there.

"Morning and that´s burned porridge," Sirius answered her before he took a bite from his cereal.

"Sorry morning. You burned something?" Lily asked in disbelief as she took a place at the table and accepted the bowl Sirius filled and handed her.

"No, I wanted porridge so James decided to make it."

"I don't know where I went wrong," James pouted.

"Stirring usually works," Lily suggested with a smile. Her husband's incapability to cook was almost as legendary as Sirius´ skills were.

"For him it didn't. He managed to set the entire pan on fire. It took me two hours to get rid of the stain the flame left on the ceiling. I didn't manage to save your pan though," Sirius glanced at the garbage bag and Lily followed his gaze before starting to rise to see the fate of her pan.

"Don't, it will make you sad," Sirius stopped her with an expression that wouldn't be out of place on a funeral.

"That bad?" she asked as she sat down again.

"You don't want to know, he actually cried," James bit his lip as he looked at them apologetic.

"You cried over a pan?" Lily asked surprised.

"The poor pan hadn't done anything wrong but to end up in the hands of your husband. It is a cruel ending for a trusty pan," Sirius glared at James who did his uttermost best to keep his expression pulled into one of sorrow and regret though his eyes twinkled in amusement.

Lily felt her mouth twitch in response but managed to keep a straight face as she softly patted Sirius' arm.

"We'll make him buy a new one," she promised him with what she hoped was a comforting smile.

Sirius shot her a glare.

"It's not actually about the pan...I don't care about the pan. I cried because I am emotional and because I wanted porridge and now I couldn't have it because your damn husband slaughtered the pan. So I'm stuck having cereal I don't even like."

"Well...we've always known he isn't much of a cook," Lily tried to defend her husband while not bursting into laughter.

"It is porridge out of a bottle! You dump it into a pan, heat it and it's done. How the bloody hell do you ruin that?" Sirius asked as he looked at her incredulously.

"James can't even boil an egg. I think your expectations of him are too high."

"I am sitting right here you know?" James said in mock annoyance.

"What? Can't handle the truth? Peter's better at cooking then you are and he usually sets the kitchen on fire twice a week." Sirius shot at him.

"Okay...okay, I never claimed to be a master chef. But I did leave a note for Tiffy if she'd pick up some more bottles of porridge."

Lily frowned. "Why didn't you ask her immediately to get some new porridge?"

"I wasn't about to deny her some much needed sleep only because her master is a complete disaster in the kitchen," Sirius answered her.

"Didn't we already go over..." James sighed but was interrupted by two things happening.

First was a loud crack to indicate the arrival of Tiffy.

The second was Sirius dropping his bowl of cereal as he gave out a pained scream before abruptly tipping his chair over and falling to the side.

Without a moment's hesitation James shot out of his own chair and caught Sirius' falling form before he could truly fall and hurt himself. Upon hitting the ground he immediately turned their bodies over so that Sirius wouldn't get burned by the hot milk from the bowl coming down after them.

"James!" Lily exclaimed shocked as she seemed to react minutes after it had happened, though it was probably only seconds after his refined Quidditch skills kicked in.

"Tiffy, get mum!" James ordered, ignoring Lily for the moment as he carefully lowered Sirius' unresponsive body from his protective hold onto the ground, holding his head steady.

The House Elf immediately left with a loud crack again, her eyes wide in shock at what had happened.

"He's unconscious," James said unnecessary as Lily pushed the table and chairs to the side to get more space.

Another loud crack sounded and his mother didn't waste a moment of time upon arriving as she knelt down beside him onto the floor immediately.

"James, what happened?"

"I don't know, Tiffy arrived and he just collapsed. He screamed like he was in pain," James answered her as he shifted to the side without ever letting go of Sirius.

"He collapsed when Tiffy arrived?" Dorea asked surprised as she waved her wand over Sirius' body before looking at the readings.

"That's impossible...move him onto a bed," she ordered.

Carefully but urgently James lifted Sirius into his arms and Lily ran out before them to open the doors.

"What's impossible?" James asked as he lowered Sirius onto the bed.

"Every muscle in his body is cramping up incredibly. I...," Dorea frowned as she waved her wand over his body once more.

"Turn on the light," she ordered and Lily quickly waved her wand to do so.

"Wait!" Dorea called out and Lily froze.

"What?" she asked.

"Your magic...his muscles cramped even more when you used your magic. Did you use magic when he collapsed?"

"No..." Lily hesitated as she tried to recall what she had been doing.

"You said it happened when Tiffy arrived?" Dorea asked as she looked at James.

"Yeah, at the same time I think. We heard the usual crack and then he just collapsed. Do you know what's wrong?"

"I think he's having a bad reaction to magic," Dorea answered.

"But we use magic all the time," Lily frowned, but James looked at her with a frown of his own.

"Do we? Outside casting the Fidelius Charm two weeks ago I haven't used any magic and I can't remember you using any either."

"Why not?" Dorea asked as she turned to James.

"Sirius can't use magic so I try not to use any magic around him either as to not accidentally tempt him," James explained with a shrug.

"I guess you are right, I hadn't noticed but now that I think about it I haven't really been using magic either. Do you really think this was caused by magic?" Lily asked worriedly.

Dorea waved her wand over Sirius' body one more time.

"I think so. One way to truly test it...James?"

James fumbled around for his wand before he hesitated.

"Won't I hurt him more if it's truly the cause?"

"Use a simple spell just in case," Dorea advised as she monitored Sirius' reaction when James levitated a pen up into the air.

"Stop. It is indeed magic that's causing him harm." Dorea felt Sirius' forehead. "He's burning up. James, help me get his upper clothing off."

"Will he be all right?" James asked as he unbuttoned Sirius' shirt and pulled it off.

"He didn't have problems when you cast the Fidelius Charm?" Dorea asked, not answering his question.

"He said he had a headache some time later but nothing else," James answered as he finished pulling the last piece of clothing off, leaving Sirius only in his underwear.

"Maybe the reaction depends on what magic is used. His body doesn't react to any of the magic I am using right now, but he did react when either of you used a spell just now."

Dorea frowned as she let her wand move over his body, passing over his arms and legs slowly.

"What about the baby?" Lily suddenly asked as Dorea's wand travelled over his abdomen.

Dorea stiffened for a moment before she moved her wand in a different matter over his belly.

Reading the results she sighed in relief.

"There is a lot of magic swirling around the womb, more than usual. It seems that Sirius unconsciously protected the foetus when his muscles got fried."

Lily and James both let out a relieved breath as James softly caressed Sirius' hair out of his face.

"What can we do for him?"

Dorea sat down on the bed, too.

"We can try to cool them down a bit with ice so that his muscles might relax. Normally I'd advise you to massage them but because he is unconscious I don't recommend it."

'I'll get some ice patches," Lily hurried out of the bedroom.

"Will he be all right?" James asked again.

"Maybe we could cover him up a bit so he won't get cold with the ice," Dorea said as she avoided his gaze.

"Mum...will he be all right?" James grabbed his mother's arm and forced her to look at him.

Dorea looked him into the eye for a long moment before she sighed.

"I don't know, honey. If I didn't know better I'd say he's been put under the Cruciatus Curse repeatedly," Lily almost dropped the ice she was holding when she entered the bedroom to those words again.

"The Cruciatus?" James swallowed as he looked down at Sirius.

"I have seen the same symptoms in Cruciatus victims, yes. But more importantly his muscles are in the same condition as they were on that Christmas Eve."

Lily swallowed thickly as mother and son looked at each other.

James and Sirius had never told anyone exactly what had happened the Christmas Sirius ran away, not even Remus and Peter. Though she was sure they had realised it hadn't been pretty from the extent of Sirius' injuries at the time.

Injuries she had never even known about until after she had gotten engaged to James.

Like everyone else at Hogwarts she had heard the story that Sirius had clashed with his parents over their different views and had left in anger.

Walburga's visit to Hogwarts some time later had made sure everyone knew about his leaving. But no one had ever even suspected he had been hurt on the occasion.

Lily only began to suspect there was more to the story after learning about his constant nightmares. And eventually she had seen most of the scars littering his body by accident.

But even so she had never been able to bring herself to ask, and now she realised just how bad things must have been.

"He couldn't move for days back then," James whispered as he took a hold of Sirius' hand and bit his lip.

"I think you should prepare yourself that he might not wake up for several days this time," Dorea sighed as James looked alarmed. "Sirius' spirit is strong, but his body has been through a lot of damage in his twenty years so it doesn't heal quite as fast as yours would. We can only wait and see what happens."

She placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him slightly before turning to Lily to accept the ice packs she was holding and placed them against various parts of his body before pulling the blanket over him.

"There is nothing more I can do for now, once those are warm remove them and you can try to reapply new ones after twelve hours. Make sure to keep his lips hydrated though."

Lily nodded. "I'll call you if something changes, thank you."

Dorea nodded, not smiling as she stood up and gave Lily a pat on the arm.

"Mum...here; take this so that we can contact you if something changes. I don't want to call Tiffy in case it will hurt him even more," James said as he pulled a mirror out of Sirius' nightstand and handed it to her.

"Smart idea. I'll make sure I keep it on me at all times," Dorea promised as she recognised the mirror for what it was and pocketed it before she hugged him.

"Try not to worry, Sirius is strong, knowing him he'll be fine again in a few days," she caressed James' cheek for a moment as he nodded before moving back to the bed.

"Look after them both, love," she said to Lily as she pulled her into a hug, too.

"I will," Lily whispered before Dorea left again and she turned to look at the bed.

James had curled up beside Sirius on the bed, his arms wrapped around his best friend's waist loosely so he would not hurt him and his forehead was resting against Sirius' shoulder.

Lily shifted slightly, knowing there was nothing she could do to lighten his distress. Nothing she said or did right now would make him feel better until his best friend, his brother, opened his eyes again.

She stood there for several long moments before she decided to pull a chair to the bed and sat down in it, taking Sirius' free hand in her own and watched over the two of them in silence.


	6. Chapter 6 - Twenty weeks

Chapter 6 – 20 weeks

“Pssst Lily.”

“Hmmmm.”

“Mummy? Wakey wakey.”

“Go away,” Lily murmured as she pulled the blankets up higher, getting a soft chuckle in return as she swatted at the voice.

“Ah, but then your breakfast will get cold,” came the cheeky reply.

“Breakfast?” blearily Lily opened her eyes enough to peek out from underneath the blankets.

“In bed?” she continued curiously as she spotted a tray on the nightstand.

“Yup, so sit up so that I can serve it to you.”

“I’m not exactly dressed,” Lily protested as she became more aware of her surroundings.

“Not even a nightshirt?” Although she couldn’t see him she just knew he was grinning at her.

“I’m wearing panties?” she couldn’t help but grin back at him, not the least bit uncomfortable at the topic.

“.... Here,” his dark form disappeared from her limited view for a few moments before he dropped a piece of clothing into her awaiting hands.

“That isn’t mine,” she laughed as she identified the shirt he had given her.

“Who cares?”

“James might?”

“Oh please, I’m always wearing his clothing so you as his wife certainly are entitled to wear his clothing now and then,” Sirius shot at her bemused as he turned his back to her so that she could slip into the shirt before sitting up.

“How come you are serving breakfast in bed?” she asked as she eyed the tray again.

“It is Mother’s Day and James is passed out on the couch so I thought I’d serve it to you instead.”

“Mother’s day? But the baby isn’t born yet.”

“So? Doesn’t mean that you aren’t a mother yet,” Sirius shrugged before he picked up the tray and placed it on her lap.

“You know...technically you are a mother too, you know?” Lily teased him as she looked at the display of food before glancing at him with twinkling eyes.

Sirius stared at her speechless for a long moment before he managed to recover.

“Well...I guess I will just have to steal a piece of toast from you then,” he finally said and Lily laughed.

“Hmm... and crawl in beside me or it is not a true breakfast in bed,” she answered as she pulled back the sheets on the other side of the bed, inviting him in.

“I’m not going to say no to that. It’s rather cold out here,” Sirius grinned as he moved around the bed and crawled in beside her with some difficulties.

“Soon you won’t be able to get into bed anymore,” Lily told him with a glance at his swollen abdomen.

“James already lowered my bed last night when he noticed I couldn’t get inside effortless anymore,” Sirius admitted as he tucked the blankets around him.

“He’s truly taking his orders very seriously.”

“Pretty much, yeah. I only have to think about something and he’s already arranging for me to get it. I have to admit it is rather endearing.”

Lily laughed. “Hard to get mad when he’s so enthusiastic, huh?”

“Not mad, just drives me crazy sometimes,” he paused before a small smile spread over his lips. “But I much rather have him behave like this than that he wouldn’t care.”

“True. And his doting on you tells me he will make a fantastic father.”

“Oh he will. You both will. This baby will be lucky with such loving parents.”

“And with such an amazing godfather,” Lily added as she smiled at him.

Sirius hesitated before he looked at his hands.

“Do you really think I’d be a good godfather? Cause you know...it is not too late to change to someone more capable like Remus.”

Lily stared at him for a long moment flabbergasted before she realised he was actually serious. She picked up the half eaten tray from her lap and placed it back onto the nightstand before she turned to face him.

“Do you truly still doubt yourself? Despite all that you have already done?” she asked.

Sirius glanced at her for a brief moment before he looked back to his hands.

“I know next to nothing about children. The only child I know is Andromeda’s and I only truly saw Dora a handful of times. What if I drop the baby when you let me hold him or I don’t know what to do and accidentally hurt him?” He rambled, his voice lowering more and more until it was barely above a whisper.

Lily sighed with a fond smile.

“You won’t drop the baby. If anything you will wrap him up in bubble wrap in your attempt to keep him safe.”

Sirius let out a choked laugh, his lower lip trembling slightly.

“I’m being ridiculous aren’t I?”

“No, just hormonal. It is rather adorable to be honest and quite frankly you aren’t half as bad as the books claim pregnant people are.”

“Those pregnant people don’t have you guys at their side. I’m pretty content most of the time,” he frowned. “Except for the times when I feel like a cat that just ate a bowl of milk. Then I am just plainly terrified of myself.”

Lily laughed before she snuck an arm around his shoulder.

“Come here.”

Sirius leaned against her for a long moment before he sighed.

“That’s not very comfortable.”

He shifted so that he was more comfortable as he leaned his head against her shoulder.

“Have you slept?” Lily asked as she could clearly see the tiredness in his eyes. She glanced at the clock to see it was close to six in the morning and suddenly wondered if he had slept at all.

She felt Sirius shrug. “A bit.”

Lily sighed. “Lay down.”

“What?” Sirius looked at her confused.

“Lay down with your head resting on my lap,” Lily ordered.

Sirius gave her a bemused look before he complied and did as she had told him to do, curling slightly up against her legs while facing away from her.

“Now, I want you to try and relax,” she spoke softly before she started to brush her index finger over his right eyebrow slowly, starting at his eye and moving outward. 

Sirius stiffened at her action.

“Shhh, just close your eyes and relax,” she ordered, smiling when she felt him try to relax.

“My mother used to do this any time I couldn’t sleep and it always helped.”

“It is rather nice,” Sirius admitted softly, his voice tired and soft as he yawned and relaxed completely against her.

Lily only smiled, knowing that if she kept silent he would fall asleep in no time.

She was proven right when his breathing evened out fairly quickly and her smile widened slightly as she looked at his relaxed form.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“He’s finally asleep?” She opened her eyes startled, realising that she had dozed off. 

“Hey...yeah,” she replied softly as she yawned before she glanced at the clock.

“Is it already that late?” she asked as she realised almost six hours had passed and it was close to noon.

“Hmm, I thought I’d let you both sleep. He hasn’t really slept well last night.”

“He mentioned it, though he didn’t say why.”

“First another nightmare woke him, then he threw up and finally stomach aches kept him awake. It was horrible.”

James moved into the bedroom and sat on the bed edge.

“Has he managed to eat anything?” he asked even softer as he noticed the tray.

“A bit of toast and a sip from my tea. He looked so tired I was more concerned with getting him to sleep than to have him eat.”

She glanced at Sirius before looking back to James. “Do you think it will help if I made some soup?”

“It might. If it is light enough there is a chance it might stay in.”

“I’ll make some chicken soup then,” Lily decided before she and James carefully switched places.

“Shhh, it’s all right, just sleep some more,” Lily whispered as Sirius shifted when James moved his head onto his legs and wrapped an arm around his waist loosely.

“Brush your finger over his eyebrow.”

James followed her advice with his free hand and Sirius settled again.

“I’d forgotten that trick. Mum used it to try and soot me whenever I felt sick.”

“Mine too, but Sirius wasn’t familiar with it.”

“His parents would never have used a loving gesture like that on him,” James’ tone held an angry note to it, though he managed to keep it low enough not to wake his friend.

“I know, we’ll just have to show him all the love we can now to make up for his lousy relatives,” Lily said determinedly before she glanced at Sirius’ sleeping form.

“What was the nightmare about this time?” 

“Him failing to keep the baby safe. He dreamed that Voldemort showed up and that he was unable to stop the bastard from hurting the baby. He has been having that nightmare a lot.” James answered softly as he caressed Sirius’ hair a bit.

“I had hoped that he would skip that phase of the pregnancy,” Lily sighed.

“Not likely. He´s been having nightmares for as long as I have known him. Life wouldn’t be fair to him and give him a break just because of this,” James sighed too before he looked down at his best friend again.

“I just wish I could do something to .....” he trailed off as he frowned and shifted his attention to his arm.

Suddenly his eyes widened in shock as Sirius shifted underneath his arm a bit.

“Oh...OH! Siri....Sirius, wake up,” he shook him lightly with his free hand.

“James?” Sirius asked tiredly before he yawned and shifted so that he was lying on his back.

“You know those stomach aches you’ve been having, Siri?”

“Yeah?” 

“Those aren’t stomach aches,” James laughed suddenly.

“What?” Sirius and Lily both looked at him confused.

“That’s the baby kicking...I felt him move just now.”

Both Sirius and Lily stared at him for a long moment as his words got through to them before Sirius looked down and Lily sat back down on the bed immediately.

“Can I?” she hesitated as she reached her hand out but Sirius pulled his nightshirt up immediately with a nod.

All three of them placed a hand on his bare abdomen.

“I don’t feel anything,” Lily said softly after several moments had passed.

“Just wait...I know what I felt,” James looked down at his hand in concentration.

They all waited in silence for another few moments before they all felt it.

“That...wow...that’s....” Lily exclaimed excitedly as she felt light taps against her palm.

“Amazing, but...does that mean he’s been kicking for hours already?” Sirius asked confused once the tapping stopped completely again. 

“I think so...I only noticed because my arm was around your waist when he kicked.”

“His first kicks.....” Lily looked at his abdomen in awe as she carefully rubbed her thumb over the skin in a caressing movement despite the baby having settled again.

“If I had realised it before I would have called you immediately,” Sirius apologised as he looked at her.

Lily shrugged. “I’m actually surprised we can already feel him. The books said that you would probably be able to feel the baby between week twenty and twenty-two, long before we would be able to feel him.”

Sirius bit his lip as he sat up, letting his shirt fall down again. “I know...but I wanted to let you know the moment I’d first feel him and I failed.”

His voice was regretful and his expression so sad that Lily couldn’t help but to lean forward and pull him into a hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered into his ear as he returned it and tears filled her eyes. He had included her into every little thing that had happened so far. Every change, no matter how small, he had told her about. Every phase he had included her in so that she was a part of this as much as she could be.

He didn’t want her to feel left out and it had helped her enormously at the moments she missed her baby the most. To know he was still there and she hadn’t lost him at all. That just because she herself wasn’t pregnant anymore didn’t mean she wouldn’t be a mother.

Every little thing Sirius did, like breakfast on bed today because it was Mother’s Day, made her feel happier than anything. He was just so sweet and thoughtful to her all the time.

Despite what his own feelings must be about all this, he always put her feelings before his own. And she would never truly be able to thank him for that. She would never be able to show him how much she appreciated what he was doing for her.

A growling sound made her pull back surprised while Sirius laughed.

“Sorry, I’m a bit hungry.”

“I suppose we should feed you something then,” she laughed too as she ruffled his hair.

“What is it with you two and treating me like a puppy? He asked as he swatted at her hand playfully.

“But Padfoot...you are a dog,” Lily laughed.

“Am I now?” he poked her into the side, making Lily yelp in surprise before Sirius pulled her down onto the bed and started to tickle her merciless while James hurriedly got out of the way.

Lily squealed as she tried to wiggle out from under his tickling fingers.

“I give in...I give in!” she eventually managed to get out breathlessly and Sirius leaned over her, his eyes twinkling in laugher.

“Are you going to feed me before I bite then?” he asked before he leaned down and pressed his cold nose against hers for a moment, making her laugh again.

“All right, I’ll feed you,” she pushed him away lightly and he sat back onto his knees as he laughed, too.

“Is there any chance I’ll be fed, too?” James asked teasingly as he looked at the two from his safe spot at the wall.

Lily gave him a calculating look. “That depends on what you have to offer for that food.”

“A kiss?” James offered immediately.

“That’s not really an offering for me though,” Sirius pouted as Lily laughed.

“I could give you a kiss, too,” James grinned as he moved towards them.

Sirius snorted. “Not good enough.”

“All right, then what would you want as an offering?” James asked as he sat back down onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Sirius from behind.

Sirius automatically leaned back against him as he looked thoughtful.

“I guess this will have to do as I can’t think of anything else,” he decided eventually.

“No cravings?” Lily asked.

“Hmmmm, not really no.” Sirius shook his head lightly before he yawned. 

“I’ll make some soup then,” she said as she moved from the bed.

“I’ll help,” Sirius said immediately as he moved out of James’ hold and slid off the bed.

“Aren’t the two of you forgetting something?” James asked with a chuckle.

“Like what?” Lily asked as she turned to him.

“Putting on some clothes? You are both rather underdressed,” James answered cheekily. “If fact, if you two had been anyone else I’d have been worried over your intentions with each other.”

Lily and Sirius glanced at each other’s clothing to realise they were both only dressed in their underwear and a long shirt belonging to James.

Sirius grinned. “It truly is a nice shirt on you.”

Lily maturely stuck out her tongue at him before she moved to the closet to grab some proper clothes and tossed a pair of pants at Sirius.

“Soon James’ clothes won’t fit me anymore either,” he complained as he slipped into the pair of pants and took off the belt because he didn’t need it.

“Dad gave me some robes of his that you can wear once my clothes don’t fit you anymore. And else if you prefer to keep wearing Muggle clothes I could always ask Tiffy to pick something up for you.”

“It would be kind of a waste of money to buy new clothes for a temporary situation wouldn’t it be?” Sirius asked.

“Not if it makes you feel more comfortable. You hate robes and you should dress as comfortable as you can right now,” Lily answered as she had dressed in the meantime, too.

“And after the baby is born we could always donate the clothes to charity or so,” she continued.

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Sirius sighed.

“You’re not a bother. Though it might be wiser to get pants made especially for pregnant women. It might be a bit undignified but if you have to buy pants that fit your belly properly, then your pant legs will be enormous. Especially since outside the pregnant belly you are skinny as hell,” James said as he looked at his form. “And it’s not like anyone outside us and mum and dad will see you.”

“I don’t feel skinny,” Sirius laughed before he shrugged. “Now is not the time to be worried about appearances so maternity pants would be a wise idea. Though if you could ask Tiffy to get a neutral colour I’d be grateful.” 

“And if they are a bit girly we could always transfigure them a bit,” Lily said.

“Mum said a bit of our magic probably wouldn’t hurt, but do we really want to take the chance after what happened last time?” James asked and Lily and Sirius both winced as they remembered last time.

“To be fair...that wasn’t truly Tiffy’s fault.” Sirius immediately defended the Potter’s oldest House Elf.

“It wasn’t. There was no way any of us could have predicted you would react so violently to magic. You have no problem with mum using magic for the magical ultrasounds so there was no indication magic would hurt you like Tiffy’s did,” James reassured him he wasn’t blaming the House Elf.

“I still wonder why that is though. We can’t use any magic even when you are on the other side of the house or you’ll at least get a severe headache, but James’ mother’s magic doesn’t hurt you at all,” Lily frowned.

“I don’t know. I’m not about to experiment with it to find out though. One round of passing out for three days before waking up with every muscle in my body on fire is enough for me if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah...let’s just ask Tiffy to buy neutral colours,” James winced as he remembered how terrified he had been when Sirius had suddenly collapsed in the middle of the kitchen upon the arrival of the old trusty house-elf.

Even now, two months later he could still feel cold sweat run down his spine at the memory of his best friend, his brother, collapsing like that without a warning.

He shook his head to pull himself out of his thoughts before sliding off the bed and moving over to Lily and Sirius.

“I’ll ask Tiffy if she’ll pick up the clothes while you guys make soup. Anything else you’d want her to pick up?” 

“Not right now. Right now I just want soup,” Sirius answered.

“Let’s make you some soup then,” Lily smiled before she and Sirius walked to the kitchen and James left to the garden so that he could contact Tiffy without causing Sirius discomfort.


	7. Chapter 7 - Thirty one Weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: No offence meant to anyone named Carl.

Warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 7 – 31 weeks

Lily peeked around the corner of the living room at the sound of voices to see James and Sirius sitting on the couch.

James had a book open in one hand while his other was massaging Sirius' left leg as Sirius sat with his legs over James' lap, his head resting against James' shoulder.

"What about Carl then?"

"Really James?" Sirius raised an eyebrow as he picked up another spoonful of ice cream from the bowl resting on his lap.

"Hey, what are you guys doing up so late? It's almost three in the morning," she greeted them as she walked inside.

"Hey, did we wake you?" Sirius looked up to greet her while James groaned and picked up a pillow to hide his face in, dropping the book onto Sirius' legs.

"No you didn't. What's up with him?" Lily laughed as she sat down in the chair across from them.

"He's having trouble coming up with a list of decent names," Sirius said.

"Don't tell her that!" James exclaimed horrified as he swatted at Sirius' knee.

Sirius laughed as he shifted out of his reach. "Why not? The sooner you admit you really haven't the foggiest on a good name, the sooner we can peek at her list."

"That bad huh?" Lily chuckled.

"What's on your list then?" James asked, removing the book from Sirius´ legs and putting it onto the side table as he returned to massaging Sirius' leg and Sirius leaned back against him again.

"Erm...Are your legs hurting you again?" Lily asked with a small smile as she changed the subject.

"Yeah, I was just going to walk around a little when I found him trying to drown himself in the shower."

"Siri!"

"Why was he drowning himself in the shower in the middle of the night?" Lily asked confused.

"Why are you up in the middle of the night?" James shot back.

"I was thirsty and you were gone," Lily revealed as she showed them her glass of water to prove her story. "But you are avoiding my question."

"All right...I can't think of any names. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't think of anything and went to take a shower that I was most definitely not drowning myself under when Sirius walked in."

"He screamed like a little girl," Sirius grinned.

"Well...what if it had been Lily who had been in the shower?" James protested.

"Then I'd have said sorry before handing her a towel, too," Sirius shrugged indifferently.

Lily laughed."It wouldn't be the first time we walked in on each other showering."

"Should I be getting jealous?" James teasingly gave them both a mock suspicious glance.

"Very," Lily stuck out her tongue at him before she moved to sit onto the table and stole Sirius' spoon from him.

"Oi," Sirius protested as she dipped it into the bowl before taking a bite.

"Hmmm chocolate."

Sirius pouted.

"Here, we'll share my spoon," James handed him his own spoon and Sirius grinned before dipping it into the bowl again.

"So...how far along is your list?" James asked as he looked at his wife.

"Pretty much...none-existing?" Lily winced apologetic.

"You can't think of a name either?" hopeful he smiled at her.

"I've gone through the entire book and though there were many nice names none seemed right. I want him to have a special name that means something to us."

"Such as?" Sirius asked as he fed James a spoonful of ice cream before passing the bowl to Lily so she could finish the last bit.

"I don't know. I was thinking of naming him after one of our relatives but nothing seems to fit," Lily sighed as she took the last few bites and placed it beside her on the table.

"I knew what your parents were called, but I have no idea what your grandparents´ names were," Sirius said.

"Mary and Frank from mum's side and from dad's side Marc and Lynette."

"Was there one who you loved most of all?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, Grandmother Mary. She was always so sweet to me," Lily smiled.

"Hmmmm...And James adored Grandpa Harold the most. Mary and Harold...Har...old and Ma...ry...what do you think of Harry?" Sirius suddenly asked.

"Harry? ...Harry...you know...I rather like it," James tested the name on his lips before he looked questioningly to Lily to see what she thought of it.

"Yeah...I like it, too," Lily decided with a nod. "The name has special meaning because we'd name him after people we both loved deeply."

"Yeah... Harry," James smiled as he rested his hand onto Sirius' abdomen.

"Baby Harry, huh?" Sirius asked as he looked down at his swollen belly, too. "Hello Harry."

Lily smiled as she knelt down onto the ground before them and placed her hand on his abdomen as well.

"Our little Harry," she smiled.

"Are you going to follow the Potter tradition?" Sirius asked as he shifted slightly in his position to lean more comfortable against James before he yawned.

"What tradition?" Lily asked as she softly caressed the hair out of his eyes with a smile.

"Of giving the child the middle name of the father when it's a boy. James' middle name is Charlus and dad's middle name is Harold and so on and on," Sirius answered her lazily as he leaned into her touch slightly.

"Harry James Potter... it has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" Lily smiled as she looked up to James.

"It does," James agreed as he wrapped an arm around Sirius' shoulder. "I think it is time we got you back to bed now that you are finally sleepy again."

"But I'm comfy," Sirius protested as he snuggled closer. "And you are warm."

James smiled. "All right, then you just stay right where you are," he pulled him slightly closer and picked up on softly rubbing his legs again.

Lily smiled as she softly caressed his cheek for a moment. "Do you want a blanket?"

"No I'm good. I do feel like I'm being awfully cuddly though," he frowned but did not move away from his position as James laughed.

"Not so much more than usual," Lily reassured him.

"Lily's right, you are the same as usual. I can't even remember how many times I walked in to find you curled up beside mum or dad while reading. Or have fallen asleep against Lily while watching television," James smiled.

"And you and James are always touching anyway. You touch me and Remus a lot too, actually. A brushing of hands here, a touching of arms there...it's not exactly new," Lily said.

Sirius looked at her surprised. "Really? I've never noticed."

"Probably because it comes naturally to you and besides, James is the same. You are both rather tactile with people you trust and care about," Lily paused before she corrected herself. "You are both rather tactile to the people you are close to. You hardly ever touch Peter, but you are constantly touching each other in some way."

"I wasn't really aware of that either," James admitted as he looked down at his arm around Sirius but made no move to pull back either.

"It doesn't really matter. Your parents are actually equally tactile with the two of you. It is very endearing to see," Lily smiled again.

"So I don't make you feel uncomfortable?" Sirius asked.

"Never...besides, I don't see you complaining that I'm touching you either," Lily laughed.

Sirius blinked at her confused before he glanced down to see she had indeed placed her hand on his arm and was rubbing it softly.

"I hadn't even noticed," he admitted with a tired chuckle.

"I know. And your actions make me rather tactile too. Remus too. On his own I've never seen him touch anyone, yet when he is with either of you he's much more tactile, too."

"We bring the worst out of the two of you," James grinned.

"If that's the worst you guys do then bring it on, 'Lily challenged them with a grin of her own.

Sirius stuck out his tongue to her before he shifted again with another yawn.

"Go to sleep Siri. You need it," Lily said softly and he nodded, shifting slightly to curl up a bit more.

James and Lily shared a fond smile with each other but kept silent so they wouldn't keep him awake.

Lily wasn't sure how much time had passed but eventually James shifted and carefully lifted Sirius up into his arms as he rose.

"Are you bringing him to bed?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, I plan to stay with him though," James whispered back.

"Nightmares again?" she asked and James nodded.

"About the baby?"

"Some, but judging from how he stays even closer than usual I think the latest was about me."

"About you?" Lily asked with a frown.

James sighed. "Ever since I got bashed up pretty badly at Quidditch in fourth year he occasionally has dreams in which something happens to me."

He gave her a wry smile. "I've had the same nightmares after Christmas of Sixth year and still do occasionally."

Lily nodded as James carefully laid Sirius in the bed and Lily tucked in him before they both walked to the door.

"James?" she asked as she moved outside.

"Yeah?"

She looked at him. "What happened that Christmas? I mean...clearly more happened than the whole he had enough and left story. Was it really that bad?"

James hesitated as he glanced back into the room before biting his lip.

"It is not my place to tell you," he finally decided.

Lily nodded. "I know...it's just...it was bad wasn't it? Your mum said when he collapsed due to Tiffy's magic that his muscles looked like he'd been put under the Cruciatus Curse...they looked like they did that Christmas. And I accept that it is something you won't tell me without his permission...but it was bad, wasn't it?"

James sighed. "It was. I was the one who noticed him stumbling up our lane first and the one who caught him when he collapsed," James swallowed. "I thought he was dying right there in my arms."

"And his parents were responsible." It wasn't really a question she was asking and they both knew it so James simply nodded.

Lily took a deep breath. She had already known it but somehow the confirmation still made cold sweat run down her spine. She nodded while blinking away tears, not allowing them to fall.

"I won't...we'll never raise a hand at our child right?" Lily asked, suddenly unsure of herself. "We'll be good parents...loving ones...right?"

James pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair. "We will be. We will never, ever raise a hand to hurt our child, ever. No matter how mischievous he might be we will never use violence to reprimand him."

His voice was so determined and sure that Lily nodded.

"We're not like them..." she whispered before she glanced at the door. The irresistible urge to stay close to him and protect him from the outside world filled her and she couldn't help but ask; "Do...do you think he'll mind if I stay with him tonight, too. I would feel better if I could just be close to him right now."

James smiled softly as he understood her motive. He took her hand and pulled her back into the room, closing the door carefully behind him.

He kicked off his slippers and shrugged out of his dressing gown before crawling in beside Sirius and shuffling closer to him on his back.

Sirius shifted almost immediately, wrapping an arm around James' waist and resting his head against his shoulder without waking.

Lily smiled at how comfortable he was with her husband to not even wake up when James crawled into bed beside him.

Alice had once asked her if she never felt any jealously at the way James and Sirius interacted, how they behaved around one another. But she never had.

Even if their strong bond had baffled her originally, it had never made her feel uncomfortable. And over time, as she had slowly begun to understand their connection, she had come to love and appreciate it. She couldn't even imagine them to be any different, nor did she want them to be.

She might occasionally joke that by marrying James she had gotten a double deal, but she would never want it to be any other way.

She slipped into bed at the other side before shuffling closer herself so that she could rest her forehead between Sirius' shoulder blades.

She wrapped her hand loosely into the fabric of his nightshirt before closing her eyes.

Listening to his quiet breathing she let it lull her into sleep slowly as his close presence soothed her.


	8. Chapter 8 - Thirty Five Weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story involves strong Bromance and a strong family bond without being blood related. Meaning, it involves hugging, cuddling and generally being touchy feely with someone you love deeply without it having to be romantic or sexually.  
> This story's pairing is James/Lily. It is not a threesome relationship.

Disclaimer and warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 8 – 35 weeks

Lily leaned back from her work in the garden when her ears caught the sound of a metallic bell. Curious to what the sound was she stood up and cleared her gloves away.

Entering the house she removed her shoes at the doorway and entered the living room through the kitchen to find Sirius stretched out on the couch, reading a magazine.

His free hand was playing with a small multicoloured ball hanging on a string around his neck, making it tingle as it moved.

"What is that?" she asked as she walked to him.

He glanced up at her questioningly before looking down at the necklace when he noticed what she meant.

"I don't know. Dad dropped it off with the groceries, saying the baby would like it. Though If I'm honest I like it very much too."

"May I?"

"Sure," Sirius lifted the string over his head and handed it to her as she sat down on the table to looked at it, moving the multi coloured ball around in her fingers.

"It's pretty isn't it?" Sirius smiled as he looked at it too.

"It is. But I have no idea what it is. It looks to be of Muggle origin. But I can't remember to have ever seen it before."

"Maybe James knows," Lily handed it back to him and Sirius returned it to his neck.

"Where is he anyway?"

"He's cleaning the bathroom. When the baby refused to settle down he surprised me with a bath. But when I wanted to clean up he chased me out, saying to rest while I can."

Lily laughed. "Better not get in his way of taking care of you. And he is right. You have to take advantage of the times the baby is calm."

"I know. But it's frustrating to be unable to do anything. But I compromised. As long as he doesn't try to cook again I'm willing to let him treat me like a fragile doll."

"You could certainly pass for a doll with your features," Lily laughed.

Sirius glanced up at her confused. "My features?"

Lily chuckled at his confusion. "Yeah, do you even know how many girls and boys drooled at you when they saw you in Hogwarts?"

Sirius shrugged as he looked back at his magazine. "Remus told me about the rumours flying around in seventh year. But I don't know why, I'm hardly anything special to look at."

Lily stared at him for a long moment; he couldn't possibly be that naive about his own appearance.

"Hardly...say, who would you say is attractive?" she suddenly asked, curious to what he'd like in a person.

"In? Looks or personality?" Sirius asked without looking up from his magazine.

"Both," Lily decided after a moment, smiling at his indifference to her sudden chance of subject.

"Of our friends?"

"Sure."

Sirius looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments to try and make up his mind.

"I guess...erm...you, Remus and James."

"You find me attractive?" Lily asked surprised.

"Yeah sure. Pretty eyes, brilliant mind and a kind heart. What's not to like? And you have pretty hair too."

Lily looked at him speechless for a moment before she smiled when she realised he was serious.

"Thanks. So you find Remus and James attractive too?" she continued with a tease and Sirius laughed.

"You said of our friends so yeah. Their personalities lure you right in and make you love them."

"What do you like most about James' features?" Lily asked curious.

"His warm eyes and smile. It doesn't matter how sad or upset I am, when he smiles at me I can't help but want to smile, too," he answered her without missing a beat.

Lily nodded, knowing how her husband's smile could affect people. He had a way of pulling people in just by smiling at them.

"And his hair?" she asked.

"Fits him like it fits every Potter. It's a disaster that defies all logic but suits him. He wouldn't be him without it," Sirius smiled softly.

"And what do you like most about Remus?"

"His light green eyes. I absolutely love his eyes, especially when we've got this mischievous idea and his eyes sparkle with amusement as we explain it to him," he paused as he considered his words. "Unless they are sad then I just want to hug him and try to make him feel better so that his eyes sparkle again."

"And the rest of his features?" Lily asked, smiling at his honesty and understanding his point of view. Remus did really have nice eyes, especially when he was smiling.

Not unlike Sirius himself.

She always loved it when his grey eyes sparkled in amusement or joy. Or when he looked at her with this bemused and fond expression that always made her want to grin like an idiot. But when he looked sad, she always wanted to hold him close to her to take that sadness away from him, too.

"Erm...his smile? I don't know. I don't usually pay that much attention to how other people look. Either I like the person or not. Their appearance has very little to do with it."

Lily nodded. She thought about his words for a moment before a small playful smile crossed her lips.

"So you like me?"

"Are you interrogating me?" Sirius laughed, making Lily blush as she realised she was indeed asking a lot of questions.

"Sorry. I'm just curious to what you'd find attractive if you don't think yourself to be anything special. I don't think I've ever seen you date anyone."

"That's because I haven't. I don't know..." Sirius trailed off; looking down at the ball he was playing with before he sighed.

"I've never been interested in dating. I don't like it when people come close unless I want them to and the only ones I am comfortable letting close are you guys. I'm content as I am right now..." he trailed off again as he glanced down at his belly and Lily suppressed a chuckle.

"I'm content to live with Remus in our little apartment and having the two...three of you in my life. That's all I want," he corrected himself.

"And if Remus someday meets someone?" Lily asked softly. She couldn't really blame him for not wanting to let people in, not with where he came from. But she also didn't want him to end up alone. If anyone deserved love it was Sirius.

"I guess I'll take a second cat then to keep me company and talk you into letting Harry stay over now and then."

"Like you need to ask. We could also drag you over here to keep us company," Lily suggested as she moved from the table to sit on the couch beside him, moving his legs over her lap when he attempted to move into a sitting position.

"Am I not too heavy for you?"

"With your twig-like legs? I'm more worried I'll find sharp edges to cut me on," she laughed as Sirius stuck out his tongue at her.

The magazine he had been reading slid from his legs as he shifted but Lily caught it and frowned as she saw what it was.

"Why are you reading a household magazine?"

"It was within easy reach," Sirius admitted as he yawned theatrically.

"Lazy ass," Lily laughed as she swatted at his arm with the magazine, making Sirius laugh again.

He moved his legs from her lap and shifted so that he was curled up against her side and rested his head against her shoulder.

"You truly are just like a big dog aren't you?" she laughed as she wrapped her hand around his as he leaned against her.

"I can't help it that you are just so comfortable," Sirius defended himself as he snuggled closer.

"Who's comfortable?" James greeted them as he entered the living room with three cups of tea.

"Lily is. Say, could you bring that bag with you if you come over here?" Sirius asked and James nodded, placing the three cups on the table before picking the bag up and placing it on Lily's lap so that Sirius didn't have to shift to look into it.

"Thanks."

'Hmm, did dad drop those off?"

"Yeah, he came over to give me the new vitamins with instructions from mum and left two bags with groceries and some books we might like. He said to say hello. Oh and he left this," Sirius held up the necklace.

"I can't believe they still had that," James laughed as he lifted it into his hand without taking if from Sirius' neck.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"A pregnancy necklace. Pregnant people wear it because the sound it makes is said to settle restless foetuses. My mum wore it when she was pregnant with me and when I was a baby."

"I never knew something like that existed, why would she give such a treasured item to me?" Sirius asked as he looked at the necklace again.

"Probably because you love things like that and you are carrying a baby right now," James smiled as he let it rest against Sirius' chest again before sitting down next to him.

"How's the little guy doing now?"

"He's finally settled again. Though I'm not sure if it is because of this thing or because he's finally decided I'm bruised enough."

"He certainly has strength," James teased and Lily smiled, remembering when she had first seen Sirius' entire abdomen move. She had been amazed to be able to see small feet and fists appear in his belly as the baby moved around. And although she always looked forward to see it happen, she truly felt sorry for Sirius as she could see how much it hurt him at times.

Sirius shot James a mock glare before picking the books out of the bag and looking through them, settling on one and opening it.

Lily and James both picked a book too and they all sipped their teas while reading in comfortable silence for a while before Sirius closed his book and moved from the couch to stretch.

"I'm getting something to eat, does either of you want something?"

"What do you want, I'll make it," Lily offered as she closed her book and stood up too.

"I want spaghetti but you don't have to get up for me."

"Shush, it's my turn to pamper you," Lily grinned as Sirius rolled his eyes with a smile. "What kind of sauce do you want?"

"Cheese. Lots of cheese...but mostly spaghetti."

"Sounds good to me," James followed them to the kitchen, sitting down on a chair beside Sirius as Lily refused to let either help her.

A few minutes passed in which Sirius shifted a few times, unable to settle as he stared at the pans Lily was working with impatiently, clicking his tongue.

Lily turned at the sound, blinking surprised as she noticed Sirius glaring at the pan.

"Are you that hungry?" she asked with a chuckle.

"I want spaghetti," was his only answer.

"I can see that," James snorted.

"Shush."

"Why is it taking so long?" Sirius asked with a pout after another minute had passed.

Lily chuckled, suddenly recognising his behaviour for what it was and she turned the fire higher.

"Only a few more minutes and you can eat all the spaghetti that you want," she assured him.

Sirius nodded with a sigh, resting his head on his hands.

He sat for another minute before he sighed again, deeper and more annoyed this time.

"Bathroom again?" James asked with an empathic smile.

Sirius answered something back neither could understand as he moved from the kitchen but Lily shook her head fondly anyway.

"Poor guy. He goes to the bathroom more often than you and I go combined."

"Mum said it's normal. Though I feel sorrier for him during the night when he has to get up tons of times after finally settling down. And if he doesn't have to pee then the baby decides to keep him awake."

Lily stirred in the pan.

"I can't believe it's only a few more weeks left. Time sure passes quickly," she noted softly.

"Only a few more weeks before we can finally hold him," James agreed with a smile as he watched her cook.

Sirius returned as Lily was putting the food onto plates and gave out a whoop of delight as he saw the food was done, pulling Lily into a short hug before stealing a plate from her.

He dumped a generous amount of cheese sauce over his spaghetti and dug in.

"Enjoy," Lily laughed, not caring that part of his manners deserted him for the moment. The few times he got a sudden and desperate craving like this she believed he was allowed to forget his manners.

"Cravings are weird," James commented with a laugh as he and Lily dug in, too.

"Can't argue with that," Sirius agreed once he had emptied his plate and added some more. "Not that you need cravings to eat a lot of food."

"An active man needs food," he defended himself.

"Hm... or you just like food," Sirius shot back.

James laughed, not denying it as Lily shook her head fondly again as they continued eating while chatting comfortable.


	9. Chapter 9 - Forty Weeks

40 weeks

"Lil…wake up!"

"Hmmm?" Lily swatted at James half heartedly as he roughly shook her...

"Wake up! We need to leave, now!" the urgency in his voice blinked her into awareness and she tossed the blankets off of her and placed her feet onto the cold floor.

"What's wrong?"

"There's trouble," were his only words as he ran out of the room again and quickly slipping into her slippers, she hurried after him into the living room where Sirius was standing near the fireplace with his wand drawn.

"What kind of trouble?" she asked alarmed at the sight of his wand as they both knew he shouldn't use it.

"Death Eaters," Sirius didn't take his eyes off the fireplace. "There's a dozen of them on the streets outside."

"But the Fidelius Charm is keeping us safe, isn't it?" Lily drew her own wand, scanning the street through the windows to indeed see several masked and robes shadows move around.

"It should, but James isn't going to take any risks so he wants to move us."

"Why would they attack now?"

"Mum passed a message that the Longbottoms' were attacked a few hours ago; they've moved into safety with their baby."

"Alice gave birth already?"

"A little before midnight, apparently. Mum helped with the delivery and was there when it happened."

"Is she all right?"

"Yes, they managed to get away before the Death Eaters entered. They don't know how they managed to enter despite the Fidelius, but Augusta Longbottom was apparently the one who warned them."

"But how could they get past it?"

"Not something we are going to wait for to find out, especially not now," James handed her a bag before hurrying away again.

"Because the birth is so close?"

"I'm actually hoping he will wait just a little bit longer before wanting to come out," Sirius had one hand pressed against his abdomen, seemingly unconscious as his eyes never left the fireplace and Lily followed his movement.

His abdomen, although being nine months along, wasn't half as large as she expected it to be. But Dorea had assured her it was a combination of Sirius' own natural slenderness and the baby's smallness that made it seem so and that he had gained more than enough weight in the last six months.

"It's the last day of the Prophecy, isn't it?"

"Yes, I keep telling him to wait just a little while longer and then everything will be all right..."

"But?"

"I've been having strong pain in my back for about five hours now," Sirius' eyes finally lifted up to her. "It intensifies in regularity every couple of minutes now."

"Regu..." realising what he meant, her heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah. James was actually on his way to come warn you when Mum's message arrived."

"Is that why you are so tense?" Lily asked, wishing he'd look at her but his gaze had returned to the fire place once more.

"Sort of. Do you remember our discussion about the birth and we spoke about caesarean sections?"

"Of course I do."

"That's not going to work," Sirius' eyes narrowed and he called out. "Hurry up, I can hear movement."

"What movement and what do you mean it might not work?" alarmed Lily's eyes snapped to the fireplace as well.

"When the first pain hit me, I accidentally blew up the lamp in the kitchen because the sudden pain took me by surprise. By all means the shards should have cut me open, but instead they bounced right of the parts of my stomach not protected by my arms."

"They didn't cut you at all?"

"They cut into my arms easily enough, but this thing was completely unharmed," Sirius indicated to his swollen stomach and Lily tensed.

"What will we do if we can't use caesarean section?" she grabbed his arm to make him look at her and she swallowed at the badly concealed fear present there.

"I don't know. Mum warned us that Potter Manor might have been breached so she and Dad ran. James threw warding against the Floo connecting our houses to keep them away in case they come through there as it's an easy way. Mum told us to go lay low and she'd contact us once she could."

"She doesn't know..."

"No, and our messages aren't reaching them either so we cannot count on her help either."

"Oh no," taking a deep breath, Lily decided to focus on the first problem on hand, keeping an eye on the fireplace now as well, able to pick out the wards now that she knew they were there. And because she was staring so intensely, she could see them moving as if something or someone was attacking them. "How do we get to a safe location?"

"James is going to Apparate us," Sirius waved her concern off even as she opened her mouth. 'I'm aware. But we haven't got another choice."

"The wards I threw at the Floo aren't going to hold much longer. I've erased all unusual traces of you from the house," James returned to them and Lily blinked as she hadn't even thought of that.

"Where will we go? If Sirius is having contractions..."

"It's not..." tensing suddenly, Sirius cried out as pain flashed across his features and his breathing stocked and Lily grabbed his arm as he almost buckled under the pain. "And people dare to claim women are weak, Merlin..."

James was at his other side immediately and wrapped an arm around his waist; easily holding him upright while Sirius buried his face into the other's shoulder to try and muffle his gasps.

"I got you...I've not quite figured out a location yet," James answered her earlier question. "But we need to move quickly."

"W-we could use that cabin in which Moony transformed in back during our sixth year Easter holiday," Sirius suggested once the pain subdued again.

"Good idea. I will have to use a detour for precaution, though. Think you can make it?"

"Do we have a choice?" Sirius smiled wryly. "I'm in pain right now anyway, just don't stop even if I pass out. Just keep going until we get there."

Taking a deep breath, James shifted to pull Sirius fully into his side and turned to Lily. "Keep your wand at the ready and whatever happens, don't let go of him."

Wrapping her arm around Sirius' waist from the other side, she tightened her fingers into the fabric of his pyjama shirt to secure her grip and in turn Sirius wrapped his arm around her as well.

"Ready?"

Nodding, Lily felt Sirius tense again, the flames flaring and Lily was fairly sure she heard someone scream in the distance. But before anything else could happen, she felt the familiar pull behind her navel and her vision blurred for a moment as she forgot to close her eyes.

Once reappearing Lily immediately tightened her hold on Sirius as she felt his grip slip slightly even as James Apparated them on, doing so more times than Lily could keep track off before he settled on a location.

The moment they arrived and she didn't feel an immediate pull any more, she turned to check their surroundings without ever letting go of Sirius and forcing herself to ignore his muffled screams as his hold had disappeared completely.

"Clear," she whispered after casting a revealing charm over the area, her eyes flashing through the cabin they'd landed in. "There is no one around for miles."

"Good, the wards that my parents placed on this cabin haven't been touched in years so I think we are good for now," James slipped his wand into his sleeve and slid his arms under Sirius' knees to lift him up, carrying him to the small bed in the corner.

"Lumos Maxima," capturing several lights in transfigured lanterns, Lily placed them strategically around the cabin so they could see properly, pausing as she saw the state of the cabin properly.

Deep angry looking marks were scratched into the walls no matter where she looked and as she turned to the bed she saw that the blankets were torn so badly it was a miracle they hadn't fallen apart yet. "James?"

"Remus transformed here while we were on holiday together and Padfoot kept him company during the full moon because Prongs was too big. They played around."

"This is from playing around?" Lily stared at him in disbelief.

"You should have seen the Shack," James smiled faintly as he picked up the rags and fixed them with his wand before covering Sirius with them.

"Is he still conscious?" Lily focused her attention on the matter at hand again, ignoring their surroundings for now.

"Sort of. The combination of Apparating, magic being used around him and the contractions building up took a lot out of him. I could feel the spasms in his body reacting to the magic even from just holding him," James said and Lily leaned forward to caress the hair out of Sirius' eyes.

"He is burning up," smiling softly as Sirius moved into her touch; she carefully measured the time as his entire body tensed again before turning to James. "They come almost constantly now. What do we do?"

"I don't know. We apparently can't perform a caesarean section because of the spell and we cannot summon the baby either for the same reason."

"And transfiguring him into a girl?" Lily suggested as Sirius gasped, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes.

"I can transfigure him into an animal or object, but his gender wouldn't chance."

"You've tried before?"

"We might have tried to turn Peter into a girl once when he was being particularly whiny," James admitted. "But it didn't work."

"James..." Sirius had clearly regained conscious fully again as he spoke between pained breaths.

"Just try to relax, we'll work something out."

"You have to cut me open."

"We already concluded that that would not work, Siri."

"No..." Sirius almost doubled in pain and James immediately dropped down onto the bed to try and support him. "These contractions...the-they're not...I'm not..."

He didn't seem to be able to form a proper sentence as another wave of pain hit him, rendering him unable to speak.

"They aren't what?" James asked once the pain seemed to subdue a little again.

"They are not contractions."

"Of course they are. They come at regular intervals and increase in strength as time passes," Lily frowned.

"I don't have a vagina or birth canal...h-how can I be having contractions if I don't have t-the parts necessary that cause them?"

Both James and Lily tensed as his words got through to them.

"It can't be contractions...so what are they?" Lily blinked.

"The baby is trying to get out the only way it instinctively knows how to," Sirius groaned.

"The instinctive way would be through...he's tearing you apart from the inside!" Lily exclaimed horrified.

"Yeah...you have to cut me open," Sirius repeated as he blinked rapidly, tears falling down his cheeks as he did.

"I just said..." James started irritated.

"Just a few inches be-below the stomach shouldn't be protected….if you don't, h-he'll force his own way out," Sirius took a gasping breath once more before grinding his teeth.

"I...I can't! You'll be torn apart if I try to get the baby out like that," James exclaimed.

"He's doing a pretty good job of that right now, too," Sirius deadpanned. "I rather have you do it controlled than have him have his way. No offence but I really, re-really don't want that to happen."

Lily let out a nervous laugh as she realised what he meant. "None taken."

"If we cut you open there, you'll bleed to death," James was near panic now but Sirius seemed to calm down completely despite the pain.

"I think I'm already bleeding internally anyway. If y-you don't then I'll certainly will. We...can't wait for Mum any longer."

He looked up at James with glassy eyes full of pain but they also burned with determination.

"I trust you."

James swallowed as he stared into his eyes before Sirius had to close them as the pain became overbearing.

"All right...I can do this..." James whispered.

He fumbled with Sirius' pyjama trousers, pushing them off and his shirt up so he had room to work and Lily leaned over him slightly so she could place her hands onto his upper arms and hold him down as she was fairly sure she would need to.

He glanced up to her, a tiny smile momentarily crossing his features, but his gaze was filled with so much pain that she couldn't be sure if he was aware of her reasoning or just thought she was trying to comfort him.

"You're bleeding," James sounded horrified.

"I wasn't kidding when I said he's trying to tear me apart," Sirius shivered in both pain and coldness and Lily bit her lip.

"He won't last much longer," she warned as she was it wasn't just the cold that made him shiver as exhaustion was clearly sweeping in as well.

"Can we sedate him in any way?"

"Can we numb the area?" Lily suggested.

"With what? I don't know a spell like that," James admitted, taking a deep breath. "Right, this is going to hurt."

Sirius let out a slightly hysterical chuckle that made James smile faintly before he swallowed and began to cut in the lowest part of the stomach, managing to cut through the skin without a problem as Sirius had predicted.

Involuntarily Sirius bucked, trying to get away from him, but having anticipated it, Lily pressed down to hold him in place as much as she could even as an intense scream tore from his throat.

"Merlin ….I-I need to cut wider," James choked on his words, sounding hysterical.

"Do it, James," Lily ordered, feeling Sirius tremble below her hold.

"I can't! It's a bloody mess in there. I think part of his spleen is ripped apart. The womb is torn and there's blood everywhere. I can't see a thing."

"James…James, listen to me. You need to get the baby out or Sirius will bleed to death. You can't fix the damage being done unless the magic's cancelled and that won't happen until the baby's out."

She felt close to hysterics herself as she saw blood rapidly pool around James' knees, more than could be considered safe. But she forced herself to push it away, knowing that she needed to be the voice of reason now. James was beyond it and Sirius was in no condition to be able to get him to focus.

"Do you understand?" she hated sounding so harsh and her heart clenched as terrified eyes met hers. She had never before seen James so afraid, but she couldn't comfort or assure him all would be all right. Not with Sirius bleeding out between them.

"T-Tergeo," Sirius stuttered out and even as Lily looked down surprised, not having thought him still to have any coherent thought, James immediately nodded and the blood rapidly leaving Sirius' stomach immediately disappeared, giving James more sight.

Nodding at his brilliance, Lily focused as she could see James trying to grab the baby without having to cut further. "Okay…Sirius, I know you are definitely not a girl, but we are going to need to help James get him out. When I say yes, I need you to push with everything you have. The baby is up too high and you might be able to push him down that way."

Bleary eyes blinked up to her as tears flowed down freely and he coughed weakly, causing blood to splatter onto his lips and she swallowed as his internal bleeding was a lot more severe than she had originally thought. He was barely coherent enough to remain conscious and what she was asking was going to take what little energy he had left. They had to hurry.

"Just once, then you can rest, okay?" she pleaded with him as she brushed the sweaty hair out of his face, trying to comfort him a little before tightening her hold on his cold clammy arms as he tensed.

"Now."

James' whole body tensed as well as he prepared to grab the first part of the baby he might be able to reach, but it was clear that Sirius didn't have any strength left any more.

"It's okay….you tried…just try to stay away, okay?" she tried to reassure him as tired eyes met hers apologetic as he seemed to realise his efforts were falling short.

Glancing up at James to decide what to do now, she saw his expression become determined as he, too, could clearly see that Sirius was slipping away rapidly.

"I'm sorry," seeing Sirius so weak seemed to give James new strength and he took a deep breath before he suddenly pushed down hard on the bloodied stomach before pulling without warning.

Sirius' breathing stocked as his eyes glazed over, but a sudden unexpected wail made Lily look up abruptly to see James pull the baby free at last.

He was covered in blood and really small but still he was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

James hurriedly wrapped Sirius' deserted pyjama trousers around him and Lily laughed as tears filled her eyes.

"Did you see that? We did it Siri," she whispered as she looked down at him.

Immediately her heart clenched as his eyes were closed and he was completely motionless, his body not shivering any more. He had gone completely slack in the few seconds she had been distracted.

"Siri...Sirius!" she yelled his name as she ran her hands over his cold skin to locate his pulse and heartbeat, trying not to flinch at the blood and the extreme coldness of his skin.

"Sirius...Sirius wake up!" James appeared out of nowhere again and clawed at Sirius' unresponsive body, shaking him desperately.

"He's not breathing...there's no heartbeat."


	10. Chapter 10

Immediately Lily started to perform chest compressions like she had been taught in primary school.

"What are you doing?" Confused James halted in his frantic shaking of Sirius' body when he saw her movements.

"Trying to start his heart again. In the Muggle world we use paddles with electricity to get a heart to start again when it stops."

"Elec...that's like high voltage through the body, right?" James asked trying to understand through his panic, knowing it might help save Sirius.

"Yes."

"Move away," James ordered as he raised his wand.

There was something in his voice that made Lily listen immediately, moving moments before he spoke.

"Crucio!"

For a second time in mere minutes Lily's breathe stocked as the Unforgivable Curse slammed into Sirius' unresponsive body.

She bit her lip as James cast the curse repeatedly at Sirius, knowing it was described as a thousand needles being stabbed through your body at high speed. Technically it would have the same effect as being electrocuted.

Though she herself had never experienced the pain due to sheer luck, she wished with her entire being that James' desperate action would work like he intended it to.

Even if Sirius would be in considerable pain afterwards, it would be worth it if it meant he would be alive.

She had gotten him into his situation. If she hadn't had that rare virus he would never have offered to perform the spell and wouldn't be in this horrible condition right now.

Suddenly Sirius gasped and coughed weakly and James didn't waste any time and began to try and heal the damage before his heart would stop again.

Lily made an attempt to move to Sirius' side but James' voice stopped her.

"I need your help; he's bleeding too severely for me to keep up with it and I don't dare to vanish even more blood."

"Right."

Grabbing her wand, Lily moved to join him, swallowing thickly as she could now see the exact extent of the damage the baby had done inside of Sirius and the true amount of blood he had lost for the first time as most had pooled underneath him.

Forcing the bile rising away, she set to work to use her limited knowledge of healing spells to help James heal the internal organs the baby had ripped apart in his attempt to break through the magical womb, forcing them back into place.

The magic lingering in him made it difficult to work and she was sweating by the time they were finally able the knit the last piece of skin together, even James looked fatigued and he was far more used to using these kind of charms than she was.

Shrugging out of his pyjama jacket, James vanished the blood all around Sirius before carefully raising his unresponsive body and slipping it around him to try and give him some warmth back.

And although Sirius' heart hadn't stopped again, he gave no reaction to James' presence and it had probably more to do with some unconscious desire to make him comfortable that James pulled his underpants completely up again before covering him with the cleaned blanket than it had to do with Lily, but she couldn't help but smile faintly at the action.

"Go take care of harry, I've got him from here," now that Sirius wasn't actively dying any more, James seemed to have gotten enough of a grip on himself again to take charge, even though his shaking hands betrayed how shaken he still was.

"Are you sure?" Lily wanted nothing more than to see and touch her baby for the first time, but she was also terrified Sirius would suddenly stop breathing if she dared to turn her back.

"Go, comfort him. There's nothing more that you can do for Siri right now," James assured and nodding, Lily moved to where the soft wails were coming from.

James had hurriedly wrapped him into Sirius' pyjama pants; which had probably been the only piece of fabric not covered in blood and she carefully adjusted the legs a little to cover the baby up more warmly before picking him up.

A wide smile spread over her lips, even as tears fell down once again. Though this time they were of happiness as she held her baby against her.

"Hello there," she whispered as she got her first good look at him; taking in the patch of dark hair that she just knew would grow into a disastrous mess. Using one of the pant legs to carefully wipe some blood from his tiny face, she let her fingers slide over his nose and cheeks as he cried.

"You are so beautiful, absolutely perfectly beautiful," she continued to whisper to him, his weight feeling absolutely right in her arms. "I'm your Mummy and your Daddy is over there with your godfather. They aren't able to come say hello to you right now, because you've hurt your godfather pretty badly as you tried to get out. But we'll fix him up and then you can meet him. Without him, you wouldn't be here, you know?"

Turning to James, she watched him using a torn piece from his own under shirt to try and clean the blood from Sirius with it; clearly not even aware he himself was covered in blood as well.

Picking up the water bottle, she moved back to his side so that she could help him.

"Here," putting the bottle in his hand, she paused as James immediately drenched the cloth with water before he began to almost compulsively remove as much blood as he could.

Intended to start helping him, she carefully rested the crying baby against Sirius' side and immediately he stopped crying; breaking through James' actions as he blinked at the sudden lack of sound and a small smile finally broke free on his tear stained face.

"I guess he senses the familiarity of Sirius' presence," Lily returned his smile, reaching out to brush the sweaty fringe out of Sirius' eyes, not liking how pale he was, and seeing just how much blood was still covering him, she tore a part of her nightgown.

"Yeah," his smile grew a little as he handed over the water bottle so that she could wet the torn cloth with it before using it to clean the sweat, tears and blood from Sirius' face and lips.

"How is Harry?"

"Perfectly healthy."

"You hear that? You did it," he whispered as he caressed Sirius' cheek, warming Lily's heart with the love and tenderness in his voice. "So you better be all right, too."

"Maybe we can call Tiffy? The spell is broken so magic shouldn't harm him any more, right?" feeling Sirius' icy skin, she knew he needed medical attention as they couldn't replace the blood he had lost without potions.

"I'm not sure we can afford to wait any longer for a sign of my parents, he needs medical attention. I'm not sure we managed to heal everything," reaching out to brush a hand over Harry's sleeping face softly, James smiled before taking a deep breath. "Tiffy."

They both tensed involuntarily at the loud crack, but Sirius gave no reaction to her magic at all.

"Master James, Sir!" the little elf sounded utterly relieved to see them. "Mistress was so worried but her attempts to contact you failed and she did not dares send Tiffy."

"Are Mum and Dad safe?"

"Manor wasn't breached, only Floo was."

Letting out a relieved breath, James reached over Sirius to pull out his small hand mirror out of his pyjama pocket.

"Oh no, Master Sirius," Tiffy exclaimed as she spotted Sirius and she rushed forward to tenderly fold her small fingers around his wrist. "Poor, poor sir."

Letting her fuss over Sirius, James tapped the mirror. "Potter Manor."

Immediately his mother's worried face appeared to them, breathing out relieved. "Oh James, I was so worried. Are you all safe?"

"Yeah, Tiffy says you two are as well?"

"We are back at Potter Manor. Your father checked the wards but they haven't been breached. Your house was completely trashed, though."

"How did they get past the Fidelius?" Lily asked.

"They bypassed it. Our Floo was connected to the main network and they would have realised I would be taking care of Lily during her pregnancy. They must have figured your Floo would be connected to ours and broke into the Longbottom house to use their Floo to locate the single connection to ours that wasn't connected to the entire network."

Sharing a surprised look, Lily wondered what might have happened if James and Sirius hadn't sensed something was wrong; they probably all wound have been murdered in their sleep without ever knowing how they'd gotten in.

"It's August first…" Dorea swallowed. "How…"

"Harry was born moments before the clock first struck twelve," James sighed and Lily bit back a sob as that part of the Prophecy had come true after all.

Born as the seventh month dies.

Mere moments before midnight certainly qualified as the seventh month dying and it was just one more piece leading to Harry being the one.

"He was born two hours ago? Where is Sirius, is he all right?" Dorea's voice took on a mix of panic and shock, with concern flowing through it.

"Two hours?" Lily glanced at James' watch surprised; not having realised so much time had already passed.

"He is in pretty bad shape and needs your help."

"Bring him here, right now."

"Tiffy will takes you all along, Master James," the little elf immediately spoke up as she clearly anticipated his need to stay at Sirius' side.

"You can?"

"Tiffy will be reals careful with Master Siri and Master Harry. Tiffy swears."

Nodding, James careful lifted Sirius into his arms, shifting him so that his head rested against James' shoulder and Lily tucked the blanket around him securely to keep him as warm as possible before picking Harry and the mirror up.

"We are on our way," she warned them as she held Harry securely against her and placed her free hand on Sirius' upper arm so that Tiffy could Apparate them.

Almost losing her balance upon arriving as she was not used to elf Apparition, she was more than grateful the little elf's magic kept her on her feet while she pulled Harry tighter against her to protect him.

"James!...oh no...bring him in here," faltering in her steps at the sight of Sirius, Dorea immediately gestured for them to follow her, though Lily couldn't blame her reaction.

James was covered in blood; dressed only in a pair of torn pyjama pants while carrying an incredibly pale and sickly looking Sirius and she doubted she herself looked much better.

"We'll arrive right away," she warned them securing Harry against her, placing her free hand on James' upper arm.

"What happened?" Dorea threw the blankets from the bed so that James could lower Sirius onto the bed more easily and immediately set to work, waving her wand over his body in various complicated patterns while Charlus placed a large tray with potions on the bedside table.

"The C-section didn't work; apparently the spell protected his abdomen. We couldn't cut into it so we had to cut much lower because the baby was tearing him apart from the inside, trying to get out."

"Cut much...you mean...down..." Charlus paled at James' words but he didn't seem to properly register his father's words.

"There was so much blood...I..." James suddenly burst into tears as the tension and emotions finally overwhelmed him now that Sirius was in good hands, Charlus immediately wrapped an arm around him and pulled him against his side as he wasn't foolish enough to try and take Sirius from his son's direct line of sight by hugging him completely right now.

"You did what you had to..." Charlus swallowed as he seemed to take James' reaction as confirmation so Lily quickly explained to them exactly what had happened.

"If he hadn't realised it couldn't be contractions..." Charlus shuddered, though he also looked relieved as he rubbed his son's back as James hiccupped through his tears.

"Will he be all right?" he looked up as his mother straightened after a while.

"I have every reason to believe he will be," Dorea sighed at James' piercing gaze. "I have healed what was left of the internal damage; you did marvellous with what you knew, by the way. I have given him several blood-replenishing potions through skin absorption."

Taking a breath to clean the sheets underneath Sirius from any trace of blood, she covered him with a fresh comforter, tossing the blanket they'd used to the side with James' ruined pyjama jacket.

"Why not normal potions?" Lily asked.

"Because I dare not make him swallow anything while he is unconscious," running a hand through her grey hair, Dorea straightened once more. "I cannot do much about his coldness until his blood is replenished and being pumped around more quickly, but we will cover him up with several blankets and use heating charms on them to try and get him to regain some warmth."

"Why not cover him with a blanket directly?" Lily nodded to the comforter.

"A blanket is too scratchy right now and he's always liked comforters more," James answered that. "Will he truly be all right?"

"It is likely that he will be dizzy and cold once he wakes up and it's going to take some time for him to regain his strength after such severe blood loss, even with the potions aiding him. So don't be surprised if he will only be awake for moments at a time at first," Dorea placed a hand on his shoulder. "But yes, I do believe he will be all right if he gets enough rest."

Breathing out relieved, James let himself sink onto the bed edge, taking Sirius' hand in his own.

"I will have your father retrieve a bowl of warm water and clean cloths so that you can clean him up and arrange for a clean pair of warm pyjama's to be ready," she didn't bother offering to help as she clearly knew he would want to do it himself.

"Thank you. There is someone the two of you should meet, though," James indicated to Lily with a smile and Dorea clapped her hands together in delight as she spotted the bundle in Lily's arms.

"Our grandchild," she reached out with needy hands and smiling, Lily placed the baby into her waiting arms. "Oh, are you not absolutely gorgeous."

Charlus peeked into the bundle, carefully shifting the clothing around him away a little to get a proper view. "He has the shape of your eyes, sweetheart."

"And the ears, too," Dorea added as she looked down adoringly at her grandson. "But for the rest he looks exactly like James did as a baby."

"He does," Charlus agreed, frowning as he lifted a piece of the pyjama trouser. "What is this?"

"We were out of proper wrapping so James bundled him in Sirius' pyjama trousers," Lily bit her lip at their confused gazes.

"I will check his health, though he looks utterly healthy. Where was he born?"

"Erm, a cabin where Remus apparently transformed during a sixth year vacation?"

"I will have Tiffy bring me there so we can remove any trace of your presence there in case someone might locate it. It is not likely they will ever put the pieces together, but we shouldn't take any chance," Charlus clearly knew where she meant and with a nod she glanced back at the bedroom as Dorea moved away from it.

"Don't worry; I will keep an eye on the boys. Go with your son," Charlus placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"I know...it's just...I've never seen James that terrified before," Lily wrapped her arms around herself. "There was so much blood and his heart stopped..."

"You heard Dorea; Sirius will be all right. But when it comes to Sirius, James is very overprotective. They've always shared a very special connection."

"I know," Lily let out a soft laugh. "They are so close that occasionally I cannot help but wonder if they don't secretly share a brain."

"If anyone would figure out how to do so, it would be them," Charlus huffed out a laugh and Lily turned when Dorea placed a hand on her arm; not having realised the woman had returned.

"Come," leading her with her as Charlus returned to the bedroom, she softly spoke. "They are closer than brothers and seeing Sirius hurt like this...it is the main reason we were so utterly surprised when we learned of what the three of you had done. For James to accept Sirius to put himself in such danger and agree? It's unthinkable."

Placing Harry down onto the couch, she started taking his vitals with her wand.

"He wasn't too happy when Sirius first suggested it, but in the end he agreed," Lily admitted.

"That does sound like them, yes. When we first learned the truth about Sirius' situation we were so helpless and after he ran away from that place, we swore that we would never let anything happen to him again. James swore he would always keep him safe."

Dorea paused in her examination to look up to Lily. "I have never thanked you for accepting their bond and not trying to break them apart, have I?"

"There is no reason to thank me for that. I love James; his strong unwavering bond with Sirius is the main reason why I finally began to see him as the brilliant person that he truly is. I would never want to hurt him."

"Not changing him and accepting Sirius so deeply into your marriage are two very different things."

"It's not, not really," Lily shifted. "Sirius is family and not just because of James. You know I have a sister I don't get along with; Petunia has always made me feel horrible about myself, hating me for things I could not help. Sirius is the one who gave me a sense of what a sibling truly should be like and I am very happy with him around."

She bit her lip. "He is so much a part of James' entire being...I knew what to expect when I started dating James and I cannot imagine a life without Sirius in it the way he is. I wouldn't want it any other way and he will be involved completely in raising Harry; not because I feel obligated because of what he's done, but because he belongs with us. He is my little brother, too."

It was clear that Dorea hadn't quite realised just how much Lily loved Sirius as she swallowed thickly before smiling, her eyes wet as she picked Harry up again.

"He is perfectly healthy and one very beautiful baby boy," placing a kiss on his forehead, she placed him back into Lily's arms. "I believe he is very lucky with his brilliant mother."

Clearing her throat, she rose to her feet again. "We should get you into the shower so that you can clean yourself up before we bring our boys something to eat. I expect James to be glued to that chair for however long it takes Sirius to properly heal so it might be wise to bring him some water to wash himself with as well."

"And a change of clothing," Lily agreed, knowing she was completely right in James' behaviour.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: See chapter 1

"Mind if I join you?" placing a cup of tea on the side table, James startled awake.

"Where's Harry?" stretching, he let out a large yawn and rubbed at his eyes underneath his glasses.

"Asleep. Any changes?" smiling as he shifted onto the bed edge so that she could sit down, she took the chair.

"He has regained a bit of colour since the last potions round and his shivering has severely lessened."

"That's a good thing."

"It is. The heating charms don't seem to be working too well so I grabbed another blanket to cover him with."

"Do they help?"Lily glanced at the pile of blankets carefully tucked around Sirius, almost letting him disappear under the pile.

"I'm not really sure, but they make me feel better," James admitted. "Mum didn't dare to give him a pepper up potion yet, because his heart stopped before and he hasn't woken yet."

Nodding, Lily bit her lip, plagued by what had been bothering her for several days now. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" taking a sip of tea, James turned his attention to her fully.

"If is my fault that he is like this. If only I had not gotten..."

"Nonsense. He didn't know this would happen. None of us this and neither of us will ever blame you. It's no one's fault," James interrupted her. "Well, perhaps of the one who thought of the ritual for not mentioning that little technicality in their writing."

"They should have mentioned that," Lily nodded. "I still feel guilty, though."

"You better never mention that to him, though."

"Don't you feel guilty? I know he offered it himself, but we were the ones who agreed," Lily swallowed.

"Of course I do, I feel terrible about this. But he will only be annoyed if we show him we feel guilty, claiming we are idiots and he shouldn't get worked up right now."

Chuckling quietly, Lily had to admit that indeed would be Sirius' reaction.

"J'mes?" a soft voice interrupted their shared mirth and immediately James turned to Sirius, brushing his thumb over his cheek.

"Hey there."

"S cold," shivering, Sirius leaned into James' touch.

"I know, but you will be warm soon enough now."

"S heavy?"

"That would be the blankets covering you. Do you think you can open your eyes for me?"

"'M tired."

"I know, Siri. But try for me, will you?"

Instead of answering this time, Sirius coughed and Lily picked the glass of water and a sponge Dorea had readied from the night-stand, wetting it before handing it over to James so he could wet Sirius' lips as he didn't seem capable of lifting a single finger.

Almost immediately he licked them and giving a tiny squeeze in the sponge so he could drink, James smiled as Sirius did so greedily, not even making an attempt to raise his head.

"You can have a bit more in a little while," James said once the sponge was empty, getting a murmured response in return that Lily didn't get but made James smile.

"You're welcome. Think you can open your eyes now?" James tried to bargain as he handed the sponge back to Lily and Sirius' eyes fluttered, but it still took several long moments before they actually opened a little.

"Hey," breaking out in a brilliant smile, James stared down at Sirius.

"What happened?" Sirius' voice was rough and scratchy and he tried to clear his throat carefully and he blinked up to James.

"You had a baby," Lily informed him when James seemed incapable of doing more than beam down at his brother.

"Baby? I can't..." Sirius seemed confused for a long moment before the memories seemed to return to him. "Harry? Is he all right?"

"Perfectly healthy and sound asleep. He is in a lot better shape than you."

"Harry's in shape?" tired grey eyes shifted to her in utter confusion and she realised he was still far too out of it to truly understand what had happened.

"Harry's fine," James back tracked, reassuring him softly.

"Then why do you look like crap?" James let out a choked laugh at the weak joke.

"I don't know what you mean, I look fabulous as always," he retorted, relaxing even further at the pathetic attempt at a smile that got him in return.

"I'm tired," Sirius repeated his earlier words as his eyes began to droop again.

"I know, just sleep. I'll be right here," James caressed the hair out of his face and the grey eyes shifted to him.

"You should sleep."

"I will, right here," James tapped the bed right beside Sirius so that he could feel it despite the pile of blankets.

His only response was an agreeable humming as Sirius' breathing evened out and James smiled as it was clear he had fallen back asleep.

"He's right, you know? You should sleep properly, too," Lily smiled as she knew that now Sirius had woken up, a weight had lifted from her husband's shoulders and new energy had filled him. But he still needed sleep.

"I'm not leaving."

"I believe you told Sirius you would sleep with him," Lily calmly reminded him. "He could certainly use the additional body heat."

A slow smile spread over James' lips. "I love you, did you know that?"

"I had that idea, yes," smiling Lily squeezed his hand even as James sobered.

"I'm sorry I've given you and Harry so precious little attention these last few days."

"I would be utterly disappointed in you if you hadn't been at Sirius side during this," she cut of any chance of guilt he might feel over that. "He needed you and I'm more than sure Harry would be scandalised by the mere idea of doing so once he's old enough to be told."

"If someone had told me five years ago that you would become this close to Sirius, I'd have wondered what kind of potion they'd been sniffing," James shook his head in disbelief.

"Five years ago I wouldn't have given you the light of day, believing you to be an arrogant toe-rag," Lily grinned. "A certain little brother of us showed me the truth about you and every day I am once again reminded of why exactly I was so utterly wrong."

She rose from her seat to press a kiss onto his lips. "I'll let your parents know he woke up and have a sponge full of water and check on Harry. It is almost feeding time anyway. You make sure you get some rest so he won't have to worry about how you look the next time he wakes up."

"Are you sure you don't want me to feed Harry?" James asked even as he stripped to his underwear to not be overheated by the pile of blankets.

"You can have the night shift again," she chuckled. "Now are you going to get into bed or what?"

"Should I be somewhat worried about my wife's desire to see me in bed with another man?" James teased as he slipped between the blankets.

"Very worried," she teased back, happy to finally see him lighten up again. "I'll come back after feeding Harry so I can keep an eye on him again."

"Thank you," James yawned as he took of his glasses and placed them on the night-stand.

Leaning over to kiss him once more, she smiled mischievously before leaning down to place a soft kiss on Sirius' forehead, ignoring the grin she could feel on James' lips before slipping out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over the course of the next couple of days, Sirius woke several times; every time a little more coherent and alert and once he was able to stay awake for more than a few moments, Lily left to retrieve Harry.

"Is that..." Sirius trailed off curiously as he spotted the bundle in Lily's arms and she smiled as she saw James had rearranged the pillows behind him so that he could sit up and hold Harry.

"I think it is due time that you properly meet him. You have been asking about him every time you woke and he's been dying to meet you," Lily sat down on the bed edge so that Sirius could peek into the bundle without having to stretch as he was trying to do now because although he was up, he didn't have a lot of energy or strength back yet.

"Hello," grinning down at the bundle, Sirius carefully brushed a finger over Harry's small hand.

"Here," shifting the baby so that Sirius could hold him, she was surprised as he hesitated.

"What if I drop him?"

"Not a chance," James snorted as Lily placed the sleeping baby into his arms, not taking no for an answer.

Automatically his arms shifted him into a more secure position so that the baby's head rested in the nook of his arm.

"See?"

"He's so tiny," Sirius looked down at the child in his arms in awe, smiling sadly. "Poor kid."

Bursting out into laughter as she realised he'd spotted the tuff of already messy hair, James frowned confused.

"What am I missing?"

"He's got your hair," Sirius grinned and James snorted as he understood, too. "But he's got the shape of your eyes and ears, though...oh..."

Sirius' smile widened as Harry opened his eyes at the new voice and Lily smiled as well.

Over the course of the last five days, Harry's eyes had slowly begun to turn from the common baby blue to green and she knew they would soon enough become the same shade as hers and that was what Sirius was grinning about now.

"Looks like you got your mummy's pretty eyes and don't worry, we'll try to handle that mess your daddy gave you when you're older," he spoke to him softly as Harry gurgled to him, ignoring James' splutter.

"I think he likes you," Lily beamed as Harry's little fingers curled around Sirius' index finger and the man beamed.

"I rather like him as well," Sirius confessed. "And he is definitely magical all right."

"How can you tell so early?" James looked at him curiously as Sirius shifted Harry so that he was more leaning against his chest than solely in his arms as they began to tremble even under the baby's light weight.

"He got through the magical womb, didn't he? Couldn't have done that by hand, not with that kind of magic," Sirius' precaution made both of them smile.

"That explains a lot, actually," Lily admitted.

"Using magic like that before birth is rather rare, though," James frowned.

"As long as he doesn't try to do so again, I don't really care if it's rare or not. He's healthy, has his Mum's pretty eyes and didn't start crying upon seeing me so I think I'm content."

"Do you think he will inherit anything from you?" Lily asked as Sirius happily played with Harry's fingers as the child looked up to him curiously.

"Why would he? I'm not his parent."

"Technically you are."

"I just carried him; I'm not his biological parent."

"To the law and to us, you are," James shrugged.

"And you didn't just carry him either. I was hoping he'd get at least something from you," Lily admitted.

"Why would you want that?" Sirius truly looked confused.

"You carried him for six months, Siri. He is a part of you, too," Lily shook her head fondly.

"I don't know. What I do know however is that he's trying to suck my finger into his mouth. Is it his feeding time?"

Both looked down to see Harry was indeed holding Sirius' finger with both hands, trying to reach it with his mouth and Lily chuckled. "It is. I will get his bottle."

"Bo...ah, not breast milk of course, sorry," Sirius apologised.

"Don't be," Lily smiled as she returned moments later with a bottle. "Dorea was already heating it."

"Why are you giving me it?" Sirius asked, though he automatically accepted it.

"Your turn to feed him."

"My...are you sure? What if I choke him? Or drop him and choke him..."

"You won't," both Lily and James rolled their eyes.

"I don't want to intrude," Sirius admitted slowly as he looked at the bottle and Lily sat down in the chair again.

"You're not. You are Harry's parent as much as we are, no matter how you yourself might see it. And even that aside, you are still his godfather so you should get used to feeding him as you will have to do so much more often," Lily determined.

"It's still not too late to change, you know?"

"I have not heard that come out of your mouth," James shook his head in despair. "Feed my son before he eats your finger."

"More like drool it off, he hasn't got any teeth yet," Sirius mumbled as Harry had finally succeeded in pulling Sirius' finger to his mouth and was happily drooling on it now.

"Just feed the kid," James pressed the bottle more firmly into Sirius' hand and Lily helped him shift Harry into a proper feeding position as he couldn't do so himself yet.

"I.."

"You are part of our family, Siri. You can't have children of your own, but Lily is right when she says Harry is a part of you as well. So stop belittling yourself and give your godson his bottle already."

Sirius stared at him in doubt for a long moment before looking down at Harry again and with a slow and almost shy smile; he gave in and began to indeed feed him.

Sharing a look over his head fondly, they both settled back to watch the two.

Xxxxxx

Though they swore to never speak a word of the conditions of Harry's birth to anyone, even cast a Fidelius to ensure his safety, no one failed to notice the three of them had become even closer than they had already been.

Eventually Sirius moved back into his own apartment with Remus, who had barely been home himself, but he often came over so he could play with Harry and bring him little gifts.

And while with time some bonds were questioned and as the war raged on, suspicion broke people apart, the bond between the three of them only grew stronger.

Lily was happier than ever before even if she would never be able to have a second child. But as she leaned in the doorway and watched her three favourite men play together, she knew she neither needed nor wanted one as she already had all she could have ever wanted.


End file.
